Ranger's Apprentice: A New Era
by rAnGEr-BoI.JDR
Summary: Ranger Keaton MacFieller, Will Treaty's first apprentice, has been keeping tabs on Chris Mandel, his own potential apprentice. After several years of watching the boy grow up, Chris's family takes a turn for the worse. Keaton's decision to make Chris his apprentice just might save his family. But all hinges on Chris decision. (This takes place 20 years after Will's marriage.)
1. Prologue

**Here we go. First story and there's going to be more. The start of this story, as you will read, is set twenty years after the Will's marriage with Alyss. ^^ Characters, Chris, Azure, and Keaton are my own property. Will belongs to John Flanagan. As does the background storyline for Ranger's Apprentice. Enjoy.  
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_**Update (Changed a few things in paragraph nine... just a little something to spice up the story)**_

_**-FarmersDaughter: Thanks! About him being a bit young, point taken. Though I have read and been taught that kids have been able to pick things up faster than older people would be able to. Thanks for the heads up though; I had actually forgotten to elaborate on why he was good. Update Complete..**_

**Prologue**

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A figure in a dark hooded cloak stood watching a boy amidst the shadows of the trees around him as he stalked his prey. The boy was good. The dark clothes he wore helped him to blend with the darkness and he could track the deer he was stalking fairly easily. It was no easy feat. Tracking prey to this extent spoke volumes of the experience the boy had. The boy was downwind from the deer and he moved silently making sure he didn't betray any evidence to the deer that he was there. The level of these hunting skills showed that he must have been doing this from an early age. The figure watching the boy, however, acknowledged the fact that it was still far from perfection. He was an expert in unseen movement and far greater at tracking than the boy was. It was to be expected, because the figure that stood there watching the boy was a Ranger.

Keaton had been watching the boy since dawn following the boy around as he stalked the same deer for four hours. He was noting the potential the boy had to become as he is. He already knew that the boy had developed these skills from the teachings of his father, and further developed as he went out every day to hunt for his family since his father passed. Little Chris was only eight years old, but could track and hunt game as easily as a seasoned hunter. Chris experience however, came with him learning every bit of the trade from his father since he turned six years-old. His mother pratted on and on to his father. About how Chris was too young to be out hunting, and how dangerous it was. But it had served their family well. His father had passed on the year before, and there wasn't anybody else that could do the hunting for them. The butcher in town, Mr. Faust, would sometimes relieve some of his stock every now and then, but it wasn't enough to keep them going.

Keaton was twenty-five. He finished his Ranger apprenticeship four years ago under Ranger Will Treaty, one of the most prominent names in Ranger history. Will had an outstanding history of achievements that he had completed those twenty years ago. Everyone revered Will as hero, though much of the stories of his adventures were greatly exaggerated. Keaton himself had made a name for himself in and out of his apprenticeship. He single-handedly stopped an outbreak of a cult two years back that started to show itself more as a bandit group than a religious people. He also caught and defeated numerous outlaws and their gangs that threatened the safety of Araluen. Keaton, however, didn't really like to gloat about it. Every time people praised him for what a hero he had been, he always replied, "Just doing my job."

Now as he watched young Chris move from cover to cover like a snake slithering through the darkness, he wondered if this boy could be far better than he was on his second year as an apprentice. Chris's abilities though, needed a lot of polishing up. He had passed by Keaton several times. Many times even, staring directly at Keaton's face, he did not notice a thing. Keaton, however, had the advantage of his green and grey mottled cloak. His hood was pulled over his head, causing his face to be obscured from view and the pattern and colours of the cloak blended in with the scenery around him causing an illusionary invisibility. It was no wonder that the common folk often made Rangers out to be practitioners of black magic. It's not his fault he can't see me, Keaton thought, He isn't my apprentice yet.

Keaton had been observing the Chris ever since he noted the young boy's ability to go unseen to the untrained eye. He had been following a certain suspect around town when he first noticed Chris. Chris jumped suddenly out of nowhere and quickly scaled up a stony wall to a small window where a few bread rolls were left out to cool. He pulled two down and scurried off quickly once more slipping out of sight. Keaton marveled at the Chris's skills young as he was. Not many boys his age could have done what he accomplished that day. The wall was at least four metres high to where the window was, and it was the middle of the day. For Chris to escape the view of a highly trained Ranger was unheard of. Of course Keaton had his mind set on other things that time, but still, Keaton should have been aware to the young boy's presence at least.

Truth be told, Keaton felt that Chris could become a far greater Ranger than anyone he had ever known. With proper training, he could become even greater than he was; possibly even greater than Will. Maybe. Time would tell.

Keaton's eyes fixed on Chris as he suddenly darted out of his hiding spot. Chris moved with blinding speed, his feet lightly treading the ground making no sound at all. The deer he was tracking jerked his head upright. It looked around as if noticing the presence of something around him. Satisfied that it had heard nothing, the buck resumed his grazing in the small clearing as Chris rounded to a clearer spot. He poised the small hunting bow he carried upright as he fixed his eyes on his target. Reaching to his back, he pulled a small wooden arrow from his quiver and nocked it on the bow. He stepped clear of the tree he was hiding behind and pulled the arrow back. He took at least ten seconds aiming before he let the arrow free. The arrow sailed through the air and pierced the startled deer through its throat, rupturing a vital artery. Due to the low powered hunting bow he was using, the arrow did not have the necessary force behind it to go all the way through. The weakened deer pranced away, eager to escape.

Chris muttered a silent cry of victory. He knew that the deer wouldn't last long and would be easier to track thanks to the large trail of blood it would leave behind. He started off after the buck, imagining what a feast his family would finally have. He hadn't been this successful for days. Other than the occasional rabbit or squirrel, he had spotted a good share of deer.

Today was Chris's lucky day, literally. Keaton noticed grimly that the throat wasn't what Chris was aiming for. He had been aiming for its ribs. The shot had been thrown off due to his way of wielding the little bow. Despite the low draw weight, Chris had strained to pull the arrow back using his arm muscles instead of combing them with his back muscles. Drawing in that fashion would cause the bow to veer off to the left after a shot. Keaton also noticed that Chris gripped the arrow between his thumb and fore-finger. All that caused the arrow to edge far to the left of Chris' intended target. Keaton shook his head lightly and pursed his lips.

Well, Keaton thought, He's not my apprentice yet.

He rose from his crouched position and headed off to where he left Azure, his shaggy little Ranger horse, behind. Azure peered up at Keaton with a look that seemed to say,_ How did it go?_

"Not too bad I guess," Keaton muttered, patting Azure softly on his back before mounting him. Azure tossed his head. _Not too bad, huh,_ he seemed to say.

"Get over it. You know we have to wait seven more years before I can get him as an apprentice. He's got a long time of waiting to go."

Azure grunted. _Thought you wanted the best._

"Shut up. Not all wishes come true."


	2. Chapter 1

**Soooo here's the first chapter.. i had originally done both the prologue and chap 1 together but I needed to change a few things beforehand so... here it is.. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1**

_Seven years later_

The rabbit scuttled off, hearing the sudden _crack_ of a branch somewhere in the distance. It hoped to find refuge from whatever had caused the sound. No other rabbit could cause a sound as loud as that.

In the distance, Chris cursed himself softly for being careless. He knew that any prey within the vicinity would have been alerted to his presence and most likely would have run off. He had been hunting for six hours now with no success. It was well past midday and would be getting dark soon. He knew, though, it was due to his urgency to get some game that his hunting skills are at an all time low. Father would be most sorely displeased, he thought.

Game had been scarce, and whatever little game there was, he mostly scared them away. Some he lost track of, even after injuring his prey. He cursed himself softly again. Now wasn't a time for him to be feeling sorry for himself. In a few days, their supply of food would dwindle to nothing. His family was already rationing most of it. Even with the rationing of their food, the rest of it wouldn't even last them a week.

_Never lose hope._ His father's voice echoed in his head. It was something his father always told him when all seemed like a losing battle. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked the voice in his head. _What haven't you done? _ Chris shook his head grimly. That had been the question that usually pulled him through the tough times he had when he was out hunting. But now it just seemed empty. He couldn't think straight. He was too worried about how his family would pull through the month.

He slipped his small hunting bow over his shoulder and then spinning on his heel, he trudged off to where he set the first of his snares, hoping he would at least have something to bring home. Much to his dismay, there had been something caught in his snare, but something or someone had taken it. He shot his head around in anger. He couldn't believe his luck. He'd been losing game all day and now he had it taken from him.

Chris moved to go and check the other snares hoping the same fate hadn't befallen them too, when something caught his eye. There was a movement. Very faint, but fairly visible in his peripheral. He scanned the immediate vicinity to see if it would show up again. There! He thought. He saw a figure dash off in the opposite direction through the corner of his eye. He shrugged the hunting bow off his shoulder and started off after whoever it was watching him. He knew he had to be home soon, but anger and curiosity got the better of him.

He knelt down to study the ground around the tree, but he couldn't see anything. At least he thought couldn't see anything. The ground was fresh with tracks that could have been spotted by the least of hunters. "Calm down, Chris," he told himself, "Nothing good will come out of rushing." He shook himself and inhaled deeply in an effort to calm his rage. Scanning the ground once more, he noticed a distinct trail of blood. Was the man hurt? Or was it game that had been snatched from his snares. Rage began to boil in his blood again. He closed his eyes and began to inhale deeply once more.

Setting his eyes on the trail, he trudged lightly, following the clear trail of blood. It seemed too easy. The man who did this is either waiting to ambush him somewhere along the trail, or he was just a plain scavenger looking to find what he could among the snares hunters set in the forest. As he tracked the man, it became clear that the trail the man left behind was obvious. Too obvious.

He glanced around the brush. If there was going to be an ambush, he was going to be ready for it. He didn't want to think about it, but he also did not want to let his guard down. Bandits had been frequent in the fief lately, preying on the weak to get whatever little they could come across. More so now than ever before. The war with the Scotti a few years back, caused many to resort to desperate actions. Norgate had been affected the worst, due to the sole fact that it had been the battleground against the Scotti. A lot of families had lost their fathers, causing the younger males to join bandit groups in order to survive. Chris decided against that when the offer came along. His dad always taught him to stand for what was right. The teaching had kept him from trouble so far and he knew that his father's teachings were sound.

Scanning the horizon for activity every second or so, he continued to pursue the thief. After rounding a bend in the trail that took him through the trees, he came into a small clearing, dotted by boulders and a small brook flowing through the middle. He followed the trail over a boulder and stopped suddenly when he saw where the trail would eventually end. A small shaggy horse, more like a pony, was grazing over to the side of the brook underneath a large boulder. It wasn't tethered down or restrained in anyway. It just stood there contentedly, as if it was waiting for its master to come back. What caught his attention, however, was the large sack under the horse. The sack slumped over to one side and was bloody. Very bloody. The stain of the blood on the sack was bright red indicating that whatever was in it had been freshly killed. A pool of blood oozed from underneath the sack joining to the drops of blood he had been tracking.

He dropped quickly off the boulder and hid himself in the shadow of another. Taking a quick glance around to see if anyone was there, he moved along the shadow's path, slipping into another, and then came to a stop five meters away from where the horse stood. As if sensing his presence, the shabby horse plodded away, leaving the bloodied sack behind. Chris' heart pounded in his chest. It seemed too easy. The trail of blood, the sack out in the open, the horse leaving the sack within reach; it couldn't be this easy. His eyes darted over the scene, frantically searching for some sign of an imminent attack. Calm yourself, he thought, I'll dash over, grab the sack, and make a bee-line for home.

Steeling himself into the moment, he burst out of his cover into the open. He reached the sack in record time, but when he turned to run, he slipped on the mud caused by the pool of blood from the sack. As he fell he heard the eerie hiss of an arrow zipping well over his head and thudding on the ground behind him. He scrambled away from the spot, dived behind the cover of another boulder and planted his back against it. He could hear his heart throbbing loudly against his chest. He had never been in a more dangerous situation as this. After seeing the large black shafted arrow rising out of the ground, his fear climbed high. He was too scared to step out from the cover of the boulder and into the sights of the unknown archer.

Inhaling deeply, he gathered enough courage to peer around the corner of the boulder to where the arrow had come from. A man in a mottled green and grey hooded cloak stood at the edge of the clearing next to the horse from before, staring in Chris' direction. He was equipped with a large crossbow and another arrow was already nocked on the bowstring Chris couldn't see the man's face. It was hidden underneath the shadow of the deep cowl of the cloak's hood which only served to set Chris' nerves on edge once more. For some reason, he couldn't pull himself back from staring at the figure in the distance. His curiosity had overridden his fear and his anxiety to pull back to safety. The man pulled the arrow off the bow and slipped it into the quiver slung on his shoulder. Slipping the bow on his shoulder, the man then stepped back into the shadows seeming to dissolve into them. In the blink of an eye, the man had disappeared along with the horse.

Chris slumped onto the ground and dropped his bow. He buried his face in his hands trying to rid the experience from his mind. He had been close to death and he couldn't bear the thought of leaving his mother and his younger siblings behind. He cried softly into his arms and decided to stay underneath the protection of the boulder for a little while longer.

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After he set and groomed the horse in the stables, Chris slumped through the door of their cabin with the sack of game and leaned his back against the wall. Gail jumped from her seat beside the fireplace and ran to embrace her son. She had been sick with worry since he had not come home at the time he usually would. Stepping back, she cupped Chris' face in her hands and turned it this way and that, looking for any evident signs of injury. Satisfied that there were none, other than a few small scratches, she pulled her hands down to his shoulders and stared deeply into her son's eyes.

"What happened, dear?" she asked as calmly as she could. But her voice was coloured with worry and tinged with sadness.

All Chris could do was look into her eyes and smile weakly. Tears began to from at the corner of his eyes as he threw his arms around his mother. He began to weep softly. He buried his face onto her shoulder and let go.

"Oh, my dear, dear boy," Gail cried, "you're home now, safe and sound."

Chris lifted his head off his mother's shoulder and brushed it lightly.

"I-I," he began, "I—"

"Come and eat first," Gail cut him off, "When you are thoroughly ready, you may tell me what passed in the woods today. Until then, eat and still your nerves. Mr. Faust noticed our plight and gave a share of his hunting today. It's been a while since you've been able to eat properly."

Chris nodded grimly, walked over to the dining table, and dropped weakly into a chair. He was grateful to be home, glad that death had spared him the fate of leaving his family behind.

Gail heated up the stew she made from the meat that Grant Faust, the local butcher, had provided for them. Spooning a large serving into a bowl, she set it on the table before Chris and sat down. Chris eyes bulged in surprise at the meal. He hadn't seen food like this since he caught that deer seven years ago. He began to wolf down the meal, temporarily forgetting the near-death experience he had in the woods. After helping himself to seconds, he pushed the empty bowl to the middle of the table and crossed his arms over the table.

Gail peered up from her knitting and looked across the table to him.

"So," she said softly, "what happened out there? I began to worry when you didn't return by four."

"I ran into bandits," he responded grimly.

His mother's eyes widened at the statement and opened the mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, content to let her son finish explaining.

"They took my catching from the snares and placed them in the sack over there by the wall." He pointed to the large sack that sat by the door. Gail now noticed the pungent fumes coming from the sack and held her breath.

"After that, they waited till I came to check on em', and then set off into the woods leaving a clear trail behind them for me to follow. I should have seen the signs. I should have known. But I couldn't bear to come home again with nothing. We weren't going to last a week with the food we had."

"Oh, my poor boy," Gail cooed. She placed her hands on his and stroked them lightly. "Fate has been kind to us today. Mr. Faust parted with a few of his hunt, and you have escaped to come home to us with more than we've had in years. There is no need to fret. Your father watches over us. There is still hope for us yet."

Chris looked up into his mother's smiling face and a warm glow of hope filled him. He resolved that he would not be brought down low again. Chris did not wish to see the hopeful glow of his mother to fade away. He smiled weakly.

"Where are the twins?" he asked

"They are already in bed," Gail replied, "Darien wanted to stay up till you came home, though. He looks up to you, you know. So you cannot under any circumstances lose hope."

Gail gave him a stern look and Chris smiled. He knew this was one of her ways to keep the spirits of her children high.

She stood up from her chair and waved her hand in front of her nose.

"My goodness, that reeks," she said walking over to the game sack, "I'm going to clean these and salt them before they rot. We can't let a good bunch like this go to waste."

Before she could lift the sack, Chris stepped over and hefted the heavy sack onto the kitchen bench. Gail smiled sweetly at her son and pulled the first rabbit out of the sack.

"Thank you, dear," she said, "Wash up, and then help me out here. There's a lot more than I realized."

Chris peered into the sack and saw that his mother was telling the truth. There were at least ten good sized hares all compressed to the bottom and a few squirrels stuck out between them. He pulled his boots of and started for his room. Gail set the hare onto the bench and move to go outside and fetch a pail of water to wash the game with. She had barely stepped outside when she peeked her head back through the doorway.

"Oh, Chris dear," she called.

"Yes, mom?" he responded.

"Before I forget, a message came in today for you from Castle Macindaw. It's on the coffee table by fireplace."

"A message? From Castle Macindaw?"

"Yes, dear. Believe me; I was as surprised as you are now. What the message contains, I have no idea. I hope you're not in any trouble."

Gail stared intently at him. Chris noticed that she was waiting to hear what the message contained. He picked up the folded message on the table and broke the seal. Chris' eyes widened as he read the content of the message.

"Well?" Gail asked. Her curiosity was piqued, and looking at her son's stunned face did not help to ease it.

"All orphans from the Battle of Norgate have been made eligible to take part in Choosing Day."

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**soo hope you enjoy it so far, pleaaase... READ and REVIEW.. I'm starving for it.. ^^**


	3. Chapter 2

**All right! Here comes the 2****nd**** chapter! But first, I respond to my reviewers.**

**-KoKD94123: **I had actually started this awhile back, before I even came to . Found it in a ghost folder while scanning through my dead laptop's HDD.. so i guess you could say, If I had written that from scratch I might have found myself in the same pos.. but thanks. PM me please.

**-musicgirl97: **glad you liked it! Hope you keep reading and reviewing!

**-FarmersDaughter: **I see your point. Here is the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary  
Orphan \ˈȯr-fən\-—1: a child deprived by death of _**one**_ or usually both parents. So, as you can see, orphan is not limited to both parents being dead. Thanks for your review though. If you pick up anything else you feel worth mentioning, please go ahead.

**DISCLAIMER: I**** do NOT own the series Ranger's Apprentice.**** John Flanagan does.**** He also owns Characters Alyss, Will, and Horace, who are mentioned in this chapter. I do not take credit for them**** This is a fanfic about Will's supposed apprentice, Keaton, (who I own and in my fic is not an apprentice anymore) and his soon to be apprentice, Chris (who I own as well). Azure, Keaton's Ranger horse, and Gail, Chris' mother, are my property as well. And addi****ng now to my own character list****, Twily and Riley, Laurelle(later known as Laurie****)****, Marven,**** Duncan(Just so you know, not **_**King Duncan,**_** Duncan here is ****the name I gave**** for Horace and ****Cassandra's son, whom they named after of course, King Duncan)****, ****Sir Quentin, ****Baron Aldrich,**** and Gust.**** Some will**** be mentioned in this chap, ****some will appear****, and some will be coming in the later chapters****. Read on to see!**

**_updated version. corrected a few mistakes._  
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**Chapter 2**

Chris tried to tighten the straps around the family horse's belly. He grunted angrily as the straps slipped from his fumbling fingers and loosened again. His anxiety and nervousness both played a part in the little fit his hands seemed to have. Grabbing the straps once more, he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Need to calm down, he thought, need to—

His thought trailed off as he felt the saddle jerk him down. The horse had pranced off to graze on the small patch of grass by their well.

"You little untrained runt," he grunted through his teeth, "you had better behave or you're gonna' get a floggin'"

The small horse looked up at him wide-eyed, seeming to recognize the word. But instead of trotting off to escape, the horse just humbly plodded back towards Chris.

Chris picked up the saddle, slipped it onto the horse, and attempted to fasten the straps again. This time around, however, he felt a little more at ease. Maybe fuming off at a horse is a good stress reliever, he thought, I'll introduce the idea to Mum." He smiled at the thought and attached a little saddle pack.

Gail stepped onto the porch and called out to Chris.

"Honey, are you sure the message said _all _orphans?" he said.

"Yup," he responded, "all orphans, including those who have lost a single parent."

A week ago, Chris had received a message from Castle Macindaw that stated that any orphan the age of fifteen would be eligible to be apprenticed to a Craftmaster on Choosing Day. Choosing day was custom started by Castle Redmont, but was originally for orphans that had been admitted into the castle Ward. The king had made a decison, after the war with the Scotti eight years ago, that all fiefs were required to participate in the custom as well. The king had made that decision because of the amount of orphans there had been in the war's aftermath. Not to mention, it would help to quell the outbreak of orphan bandits, giving them the opportunity to have a chance at life. It was a better alternative to them joining up with any sort of bandit groups. Araluen may be at peace, for the moment, with the adjoining countries, but even she wasn't rid of those atrocities. Now they had even added orphans who had only lost a single parent to further diminish the possibilities of the orphans joining up with bandits.

"Wouldn't there be too many?" Gail asked curiously.

"Not at all," he put in, "Only those who are the age of fifteen may attend. Sorry. Forgot to mention that."

"Oh it's all right dear. I was just curious. Do you know how many fifteen year olds there are?"

Chris assumed furrowed his brows, crossed his arms, and assumed a deep-in-thought look.

"Nope," he replied sardonically, "I've never really socialized with the other kids my age, remember?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," she replied sympathetically, "maybe you should have."

"I couldn't. Had a family to feed. Though there was this one girl I met who was my age. But that was eight years ago."

"Was she an orphan?"

"I have no idea. Oh well, I have to go."

Chris rechecked the saddle straps and then swung himself onto the horse. He gave his mother a smile and then trotted off.

Gail watched with a heavy heart as he rode off into the morning. She was unsure of how things would pan out if he became an apprentice anything. There were several choices. Many appealing ones too. But as they had discussed the week before, they'd settle only for ones that seemed practical. The ones that could help them in the long run. Chris had always dreamed of being a warrior; a knight. But it would be four years, maybe more, before he would be knighted and recruited for his services. By the time he'd finish, his family would mostly likely be gone. He wouldn't have any way to help them. Other than the occasional leave they'd give every now and then. But even that wouldn't be much. He wouldn't have any money to buy food. Their best choices would be blacksmith, horsemaster, or kitchenmaster. With either one of those, he could make a profit while in apprenticeship and provide for his family while on leave. But they'd have to accept him first.

Gail waved to the fading figure of her son in the distance, hope high in her heart. Despite her misgivings about the situation as a whole, she knew that he would know what to choose, and that he would choose wisely.

"Good luck, son."

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Keaton watched from the shadow of the walls as the appointed orphans lined up in front of the gates of Castle Macindaw. He searched through the crowd expectantly, hoping to see Chris among the faces of all the orphans gathered in front of the gate.

Keaton frowned as he recalled the events in the forest a week ago. He had followed Chris on his hunt that day, hoping to see if the boy had any resolve in him. However, Keaton found Chris to be failing exceedingly on his hunt. Chris passed by several deer and scared most of the small game away. Keaton went through the trouble of catching a few rabbits and squirrels and placed them in a sack. He then took the hare that had been caught in Chris' snare and left behind a thoroughly visible trail for Chris to follow with the hope that he would have the nerve to chase down whoever stole the hare and take it back. Keaton also had the hope that Chris would calm down enough to think rationally and carefully. Both hopes were fulfilled to a great degree, for Chris had not only followed the trail easily, but also recognized that the whole thing was set up. Keaton had no way of knowing that, but because of the way Chris conducted himself when he reached the clearing, Keaton guessed pretty fairly that Chris had figured it all out.

However, at the part when Chris ran to grab the sack, Keaton noticed a black and red river snake underneath the boulder behind the sack, poisonous beyond degree. One bite, and you'll be dead within the hour. At the very last seconds, Keaton had an inkling that Chris would slip in his great rush to grab the sack, leaving himself open to the mercy of the snake. He already had an arrow nocked and ready, knowing that he would only have a split second to shoot after Chris would slip. The snake had already raised its head, poised for attack, as Chris began his streak for the sack. Keaton had every urge to shoot before Chris reached the mark, but it would have been too risky. As Chris grabbed the sack, he turned sharply slipping on the ground wet with blood. Keaton drew and shot the arrow in a heartbeat. The way they were taught; the way that had been ingrained into them since day one. The arrow flew neatly over Chris' head and into the snake's head, right between the eyes. Keaton noticed that the arrow threw Chris into a nervous breakdown. All that time Chris had thought a bandit was out to kill him, but it had only been Keaton testing Chris to see if he would definitely take him in as an apprentice.

"I must've scared him witless," Keaton muttered to himself, "doubt he'll ever want me as his master."

He shook his head grimly. Will had tested him in the same way, more or less. There hadn't been a snake that his master had to take care of, and he wasn't desperate for food. He only thought he could've rounded up a bunch of bandits on his own. The bandits, however, were non-existent. It was just Will's ploy to see whether or not Keaton was up to the type of tasks Rangers got themselves into. When Keaton got to the clearing Will had set out to surprise him, Will knocked him unconscious and then bound him up to a tree. When he came to, the first thing he saw was the cloaked figure of Will, eating and sipping on coffee next to a roaring fire. The next thing that happened stuck to his memory like glue. First thing that Will ever said to Keaton was, "So, how would you like to become a Ranger's apprentice?" Keaton shook his head once more. The way Will had tested him and asked if wanted be a Ranger still astonishes him to this day.

"Guess your little way of recruiting an apprentice doesn't work for Chris," he said to no one in particular.

"I beg your pardon Ranger, sir?" a guard beside him asked.

"I wasn't talking to you." With that Keaton walked off to discuss Chris' situation with Baron Aldrich.

The guard looked at him oddly as he walked away.

"Strange bunch they are, those Rangers," the guard muttered.

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Chris rode into the clearing and sighed as Castle Macindaw rose into view. He was weary from all the thinking he had done as he rode toward the Castle.

Considering all the prospects of each scenario if he were apprenticed or not, made him a little light headed. He really didn't like the prospect of _not _being apprenticed to a Craftmaster at all. Supporting his family and keeping them going was his first priority, and as he considered the possibility of going home masterless... let's just say that it wasn't a viable option to him. He needed to get an apprenticeship in order to properly provide for his family, and not having one wasn't going to cut it. Steeling himself in the saddle, he tried to give his best confident look. If wasn't going to get chosen at all, he would at least go about it without remorse or regret. He would've at least tried and that thought was enough to boost his confidence.

As he drew closer, he slumped once more as he saw the crowd that had gathered in front of Castle Macindaw. Some on horses, some on foot; all in all there was at least twenty people. That didn't bode well for Chris. All the orphans from the Ward would also be joining in and the more people there were, the less the chances were of him getting accepted as an apprentice. Each Craftmaster had a set limit on how many he or she would take in, which seemed to dampen Chris' spirit somewhat.

Battleschool didn't have one, however. Anyone apprenticed there would only be added to the general crowd of apprentices, and Araluen at the moment was in dire need of soldiers and knights. The war with Picta had greatly depleted much of the men-at-arms and the country was in a race to replace them. They didn't want any surprises from the neighbouring country, and if there were, they wanted to be ready for it.

Chris began considering it even though he and his mum had already ruled it out. There didn't seem like there was much to gain from it if he were apprenticed as a knight. Only afterwards would he be hired for his services and get paid. Maybe they would pay you to keep going, he thought hopefully. Anything now seemed like a good option. He was desperate.

He looked at the sky and noticed that the sun hadn't loomed over head yet, which meant it was still early morning. Then, looking at the forest around him, he wondered what kind of game would be waiting for him if he turned back now and decided to hunt for his family. With the prospect of becoming an apprentice reaching an all-time low, the idea of just continuing as before seemed like a good one.

He shook his head furiously and reprimanded himself. _If you__'ve__ set yourself to do something, go out and __do it with all you've got. No looking back. No regrets__. _His father's words bounded into his head. It was as if his father himself was also reprimanding him.

The gates began to creak loudly as the guards set to opening them. The thunderous rattling of the drawbridge's chains got Chris' attention. He set himself straight and steeled himself for the moment. It's now or never, he thought, No looking back. No regrets.

The crowd began to shuffle on their feet, anxious of what lay ahead of them. Some would be accepted and some would be turned down. What was in store for them that day, none knew, but they had all come with the hope of finding a better life; a hope to achieve something worthwhile. Something that they could pass on to the next generation. If fate allowed it.

Chris noticed many of them began to turn away, riding off into the horizon. He breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the people there had just been the family of the now remaining participants. There were only ten left, including Chris. As soon as the gates parted completely and the drawbridge lowered, the small number of eager beings stumbled inside. A combination of hooves and feet rang on the heavy planking of the drawbridge as they strode underneath the portcullis. The sound changed to a sharp clatter as they all stepped onto the cobblestone courtyard. A receiving group that waited for them began to move about taking the horses from the mounted and guiding those that arrived on foot into the castle. The castle grounds, Chris noticed, was alive with activity. Market stalls were strewn about the castle walls, vendors' voices echoing as they haggled with customers. Laughter rose sharply as jokes and stories were shared. Voices rose resoundingly as people greeted companions. It seemed like Choosing Day was a big occasion, only that this was the usual way things were on Sixthday, the time merchants crossed over into Norgate fief and tried their luck at trading and selling things to the folk at the castle. As he pondered what kind of life he and his family could've had if they had been living here, a voice seemed to rise out of the blue.

"-id. Hey kid!"

Chris snapped out of his trance and turned quickly to the owner of the voice. A short grim old man, stood there glaring angrily at him with his fists on his hips and his foot tapping impatiently.

"Oh, sorry," Chris said apologetically, "may I help you?"

"Actually, mister, I'm supposed to be helping you," the man replied gruffly, "you can help me by getting off your horse, so I can put 'im in the stables. Then you can be on your way. It's not good to keep the Baron waitin' for you."

"Right," he replied sheepishly remembering where he was.

As he moved to dismount, his foot caught on the stirrup causing him to stumble to the ground. Laughter ensued shortly after, started by a bulky young boy and his little gang of boys. The old man led Chris' horse away shaking his head. As Chris sat up to stand, a hand shot out in front of him. Chris took the hand gratefully as the unknown person helped him to his feet.

"Don't mind them," said the one who helped him under his breath, "they'll be getting their morning run soon enough."

Chris looked over to the laughing boys and noticed they were clad in a red surcoat, the mark of second-year Battleschool trainees. He looked back to his helper and saw a grinning, friendly face. The boy's build was slightly larger than his own and he too was wearing a red surcoat.

"Bullies like them aren't worth the attention they get," he added with a grin, "the name's Marven."

"Chris," Chris said shaking Marven's hand.

"What brings you to Castle Macindaw?"

"Choosing Day"

Marven studied Chris for a moment and then nodded.

"I would have suspected as much," he said and then jabbed his thumb in the direction of the bullies, "If you happen to be choosing Battleschool, stay away from those fools when you get in. They're nothing but trouble."

"Thanks for the advice, though I don't think I'll be settling for Battleschool," Chris replied nonchalantly.

"Why not? You seem the right type for it, and most boys are choosing Battleschool these days."

"It's a personal matter."

"Oh, well don't feel you need to explain. I didn't mean to pry. What would you be thinking to choose?"

"I'm looking for something that has a little more profit during apprenticeship."

"Then I guess going for blacksmith would be the right choice. You can sell weapons or tools you craft while in apprenticeship and keep the profits to yourself. Though I doubt you'll be accepted."

Chris' head cocked to one side questioningly.

"Why not?"

"The blacksmith usually chooses his own apprentices, and those he does like to choose are bulky and well-built. People who can with stand the heavy heat of a furnace for hours a day. No offence intended, but you are a bit on the small side. You need a lot of stamina to be a blacksmith."

"None taken, it just eliminates blacksmith from my choices. And frankly, I don't fancy being around a hot furnace for hours."

"Well, you could still at least try and see if he'll take you," Marven said as he smiled.

Marven looked at the small group of people shuffling into the castle and turned to notify Chris

"You best be on your way," he said pointing in the group's direction, "Just follow those guys. They're from the Ward and will be joining the group you came with earlier. Baron Aldrich is a patient man, but nobody likes to be kept waiting to long."

Chris nodded his thanks and then waved to Marven as he scuttled off after the Ward kids. Marven is a cool guy, he thought, If I do happen to choose Battleschool, it would be nice to have him around.

He followed the group of thirteen Ward members into the castle's dining hall, where Baron Aldrich and the Craftmasters were waiting. The Baron and the Craftmasters were seated at the far end of the hall behind the head table. The hall looked to have a normal set up; the tables arranged in the form of a T with all the important figures seated at the crosspiece. Today, however, the long middle table had been removed in order for the participants to stand in a line to face the Baron and the Craftmasters.

Baron Aldrich smiled as the group piled into the room and stood at attention. He looked over to his right and nodded at the graceful figure clad in a simple white dress at the far end of the table. Alyss nodded back with a smile and turned to regard the group of girls within the participants. She noted a few in her mind that seemed to have potential as a Courier. Some of the girls gasped and pointed when they noticed Alyss among the Craftmasters. She wasn't part of Norgate fief's Craftmasters, but because the head Courier of Norgate was on maternity leave, she had volunteered to stand in for the Courier until she could come back. Alyss also had a previous agreement with the Courier to take her own daughter in as an apprentice.

Chris glanced nervously around the hall. Somehow, all the friendly faces of the Craftmasters began to seem intimidating to him. Some seemed to have noticed his unstoppable shaking, because with one look, they all edged away from him as if he had the Plague. Come on, he thought, stop shaking!

He calmed down enough to notice that the procedures had started. They were asked to stand in two lines; a line of boys against one wall, and a line of girls against the other. Chris hobbled awkwardly into the line of boys as nervousness began to rack his nerves once more.

"Let's get started then," Baron Aldrich announced, "since we believe in chivalry here, the young ladies will begin."

The Baron's attendant cleared his throat and began calling out names. Chris was unluckily shoved towards the end of the boys' line. He might've thought himself to be lucky, but given the circumstance, he probably would end up not being accepted. As he glanced around, he found that there were at least twenty of them all lined up, most of whom were boys, which meant that he would have the least likely chances of getting what he was hoping for.

Sighing to himself, he watched the others' names were called out one by one. Most of the girls chose Courier, the others, kitchen master. Surprisingly, none of the boys asked for Blacksmith. They all chose the Battlemaster or Horsemaster if they were rejected. Two chose the Scribemaster and were readily accepted. Soon, however, Chris' name was called out.

"Chris Mandel?" the attendant called out.

Chris failed to answer the first few times. He was so nervous, he couldn't seem to find his voice.

"P-present," he managed to croak eventually.

"So," Baron Aldrich spoke up, "What'll it be, son?"

"I-I was t-thinking B-b-b-blacksmith, sir."

The Blacksmith looked him up and down. After studying him for a few seconds, he adamantly shook his head.

"Sorry, kid," he responded gruffly, "I need somebody a little chunkier than you. And one who obviously doesn't look like he's about to faint."

"Oh, okay," he responded softly.

"Would you like to try anything else?" Alyss spoke up in a soothing tone and with a soft smile on her lips.

Her smile grew wider as she recalled the events when she attended Choosing Day all those years ago. Chris was almost like Will when Will had chosen Battlemaster and was turned down. Chris eyes had been downcast, but shot up when Alyss had spoken up. There was something about her voice that calmed his nerves and gave him boost of confidence.

"Kitchenmaster," he said confidently.

The Kitchenmaster shook his head.

"Sorry, my boy," he said, arms spread sympathetically, "I'm all full with these girls, including the ones already in my classes."

"It's fine," Chris responded, "Battlemaster?"

Sir Quentin looked up sharply. He scanned the small boy in front of him, pursed his lips, and furrowed his brows fiercely.

"You might do," he said, "you _are _somewhat on the small side, but it only looks as if you hadn't eaten a good meal in years. You seem real fit, however."

Chris head popped up with renewed vigour.

"I hunt almost every day, sir" Chris said assertively, "but I give most of my meals to the twins, Twily and Riley. They're only eight years old and they need the food more than I do."

"Well, what a fine young man we have here," Alyss chimed in, "I say he's worthy don't you think."

Quentin smiled then nodded his head.

"I suppose we could have you," Quentin remarked, "A few weeks of training and eating, mind you, and he'll be a great warrior in no time. What do you think, Baron?"

"Well, I have no complaints," Aldrich said, "It is decided then. You sha—"

"I don't think so," a voice interrupted with a musky Pictan slur evident in his tone.

Chris eyes darted to where the voice came from and recoiled in surprise when he saw the cloaked figure seemingly spring out from the shadows. Chris narrowed his eyes trying to get a good view on the figure, for the cloaked man's appearance seemed to dance in and out of view with the flickering candle light.

"Oh, Ranger Keaton!" Aldrich exclaimed oddly, feinting surprise, "I did not see you there! Whatever could be the matter?"

Alyss' hand flew to her mouth as she stifled a laugh. If Baron Aldrich's acting hadn't been clear before, it certainly was at that moment. But because of Chris' nervousness, he couldn't recognize a thing. All he could think was how Keaton had seemingly destroyed the chance for him to be accepted into Battleschool. He clenched his fists.

"Why not?," Chris asked harshly, "Sir Quentin has approved and so has Baron Aldrich."

Keaton turned sharply toward Chris. Chris backed up a pace when he saw the stern look in Keaton's eyes. Then, Chris suddenly remembered something. This was the man who had nearly killed him! He must be seeking to keep me out of the protection of the knights, so he can finish me off, he thought. Chris gave his own stern look to Keaton and took a pace forward.

"You're the guy who tried to kill me!" he shouted.

Everyone in the room gasped loudly. A few voices in the background began to chatter away softly.

"I killed a snake that would've killed you," Keaton said calmly, "You were so intent on grabbing that sack that you didn't notice the serpent. So basically, I saved your life. And because you owe me your life and spoke out of turn against me, I have the authority, as a King's Ranger, to punish you."

Baron Aldrich smiled mischievously. He thought his acting had been done so well, because the situation panned out just as Keaton said.

"With that said," Aldrich spoke up, "I give you two choices. Join Battleschool, and you may cower there under the protection of our Castle. Or man up, and face the consequences of your actions. Keaton and I will discuss your punishment, _ahem,_ _**In my**__** office on the third floor marked by a window on the inner tower**__, __**after dinner tonight**_. You must have your answer by tomorrow morning."

Sir Quentin shook his head at the obvious statement made by Aldrich. Alyss quickly left the hall through the back in order to cover up the laughter welling up inside her. The others just stared at Baron Aldrich oddly. They had no idea what he was up to, but they knew something was going on. And Chris was the center of it. Chris himself, however, still failed to notice the obvious acting. He was seething with anger, intent on finding out what his punishment would be.

"Seeing that we have come to a conclusion of today's events," Aldrich's attendant said, "all those that have been accepted will be given a room in the castle ward tonight. You as well, Chris. Remember to report to your Craftmasters by eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning."

With that everybody began to leave slowly and softly. The tension in the air was obvious and everybody did their best not to let it explode. Some were confused about what had just passed in the hall, but knew not to question it.

Chris and Keaton did not move, however. Chris stood in the same spot glaring at Keaton. He scowled as he recognized the challenge evident in Keaton's eyes. _Go ahead and try, boy. I dare you._

Chris stormed out of the hall, his steps ringing sharply throughout the castle. He had one decision on his mind and he resolved that nobody would be able to change it.

He was going to climb the castle tower and eavesdrop on the Baron.

* * *

**There you have it! R&R Please! I can't go on without it! If you see any errors whatsoever, do no hesitate to point them out! I will unashamedly accept my mistakes and hurry to correct them. ^^ This chapter was a bit long, but I hope you enjoy it.**


	4. Chapter 3

**And heeeere is chapter three! Yay! (crowd cheers*) Thank you! Thank you very much! (In Elvis Presly voice*) (Girl Faints*) Hey hey! No need for that. Please no fighting in the crowd! Haha ^^**

**Anyway…..**

**FarmersDaughter: **I read your review, and I was hoping if you could PM me those grammatical mistakes (seeing that you are a guest reviewer). That would be awesome like you are for reviewing my story. ^^ Thanks again.  
(update: Yikes! that was actually a mistake.. thanks for pointing that out)

_**Update: To my readers... I'll be writing chapter 4, however, our internet stick(gotta convince dad to get broadband) has failed us and I will not be able to upload the chapter. I'm doing this via internet cafe in the city. So in maybe a few days or weeks (whenever dad decides to get it fixed) I will upload chapter 4 and possibly chapter 5. Hope to see you in my reviews then, ey? Ta-ta!**_

**DISCLAIMER: I disclaim the rights to Ranger Apprentice. I do not own it, though I wish I did. It's too awesome for the likes of me. I only own my characters. Who are: Chris, Kea—Okay you get the point, right? From now on, I shall only be putting up new characters that appear in the chapter. Makes life easier I guess.**

**NOTICE: If you notice anything worth noticing that you notice should come to my notice. Please do not hesitate to notice me. You'll notice that I'm a nice guy(most of the time). Please note that this notice that you are noticing is intended for me to notice my shortcomings so that I may be a better noticer at noticing noted mistakes. **

**Happy Reading.****  
****  
**Dinner was somewhat uneventful for Chris. Other than the occasional joke shared by Baron Aldrich, nothing really stood out. All he could think of was how he would be able to scale the tower holding the baron's office and find a place to eavesdrop from. He quivered nervously. To eavesdrop on an official discussion, and not to mention private, would be considered a major offense. It would only pile on top of the list of offenses and he would likely be dealt a greater punishment than the one Keaton and Aldrich would be discussing. He didn't even know, in the first place, why he was going to be punished. The reasons for it seemed odd and unfair. More odd than anything.

On the far end of the table, Baron Aldrich smiled mischievously to himself as he rehearsed the next part of the ploy in his head. Chris' confounded face, twisted and grim, helped to grow his grin so that it was touching the ends of both his ears. Satisfied that his plan would work, he stood up abruptly.

"I am stuffed," he spoke plainly. So plainly, it was obvious that he was acting.

"I will now retire to my quarters and rest there. After I rest for **half an**** hour**, I shall go to my office where I will have my very **private **conversation with Ranger Keaton. Goodbye."

Pleased with his performance, Aldrich chuckled to himself and walked off. Sir Quentin sighed and smacked his forehead. Quentin decided that there couldn't be any actor worse than Aldrich was. He began to feel sorry for his old friend. If he had acted as such, Quentin was sure that he'd be embarrassed. Alyss, who found it hard to maintain the poise and grace Couriers should have, stepped outside the dining hall to relieve herself. The other Craftmasters could only shake their heads solemnly, unwilling to say anything. The soon-to-be apprentices sat silently in their seats. A few of them stared confusedly at the door the baron had left through. They had noticed the obvious acting of Baron Aldrich and were curious as to why he did it. But for the same reason as before, they kept it to themselves.

Chris had also been aware of the obvious acting displayed by the baron. It struck him as odd. However, it did nothing to deter the committed boy of his plan to infiltrate the baron's office and spy on the meeting.

After a few minutes, he excused himself from the dining hall and returned to the sleeping quarters in the ward. From there, he would sneak outside, slip unseen through the courtyard, scale the tower, and then he would take the risk of eavesdropping on the meeting Aldrich was going to have with Keaton.

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Chris sat unmoving beneath the shadows of the stables, going over his plan in his head. He studied the sentries' movement on the catwalk that connected to the central tower. He had memorized the layout of this area before dinner, but decided that it would be too risky to try anything without further planning. The central tower was at the rear of the castle, which could only be accessed through the door on ground level, the door on the catwalk, and from inside. There were of course the windows, but normally people would use the doors. However, Chris knew this was no _normal_ occasion. He was going to have to scale that tower whether he liked it or not. All doors leading into the tower were heavily guarded, and to make things harder, there was little room to sneak about to even think of getting in through there. The ground level door sat in an alley way between the rear wall and the castle, and had two guards on either side. The catwalk door faced outwards to the countryside, had two guards on either side, and two sentries crossing about the catwalk. Strangely though, only the door on the catwalk was illuminated by torches.

Chris shrugged mentally. It didn't make things any easier. He still would have to climb the foreboding tower to the third window, four storeys from ground level. To make matters even worse, the alley way was parallel to the wall, which meant he would have to climb the wall onto the catwalk, walk across it while avoiding the sentries, hang down from the wall, shimmy across the wall to the tower, scale up the tower, and then shimmy across the cylindrical tower to the window. The climbing of the wall and the tower was the easy bit. The large set cement stones of which the wall was built had large gaps between them, which provided him with many foot and handholds. Cracks and holes, which lined the walls of the castle and the tower, simply made things easier.

Chris began to rub his hands nervously. He had never taken on a task as large as this. One wrong move, and he'd either be caught or fall to his death. He shook his head fitfully. Now wasn't the time to be thinking negatively. He needed every bit of resolve he could muster in order to pull this off.

Steeling himself into the moment, he flashed across the open ground from the stables and flattened himself onto the cold stone wall. Luckily for him, there were a few trees that lined the wall which helped to obscure him from the view of the guards by the lower door. He slipped across the alley way instinctively blending in with the movement of the trees' shadows. Years of hunting helped to perfect this movement.

He snuck carefully to a tree close to the section he decided to climb up. He waited a few seconds until the sentry passed over him. He would only have a few minutes to climb up, walk a few feet across, and then hang back down over the edge of the wall.

Hearing the sentry pass, he streaked up the wall. He made it to the top of the five-meter wall in a matter of seconds, and then proceeded to glide stealthily across the catwalk to a section dangerously close to the guards by the catwalk door. Chris froze in his crouched position as one of the guards by the door whipped his head around suddenly. The guard had heard something and suspiciously peered directly in the direction of Chris' unmoving figure. The torch, however, was so bright, that it clouded the guard's view, and made everything look black as night around him.

Chris' heart pounded deafeningly in his chest as the guard squinted fiercely, leaning forward slightly to see better. Satisfied that he had seen nothing out of the ordinary, the guard leaned back into his position and resumed the blank unblinking stare most guards had.

Chris let out a soft sigh of relief. He was sure that he would have been caught. Hearing footsteps behind him, he snapped upright, remembering that the sentry would be turning around soon. If the sentry glanced in his direction, he would no doubt see Chris clearly.

Chris quickly, but softly, slipped back down the wall and hung there. He rapidly streaked across the wall sideways until he reached the tower. He kept moving across until he was hanging directly above the guards of the tower's lower door. He then began to scale slowly and carefully up the tower. Any rapid movement could cause small bits of dust or rubble to fall toward the guards, alerting them to his presence.

Satisfied that he had reached a high enough point, he started to move diagonally up the tower. He nearly shrieked as his left foot slipped while he was leaning to find another foothold. He repositioned his foot and clung to the wall, hugging it fiercely. He looked down to see if he alerted any of the guards. That was a mistake. When he saw how high up he was, he quickly pressed his face to the wall and shut his eyes. The guards had looked like tiny dots moving around in the torchlight and the hard stone slabs of the catwalk seemed strangely inviting. He usually didn't mind heights, but that view sent his head spinning. He shook his head and breathed in deeply. He started to climb again, but this time he did scaled slowly. He made sure that he had a firm grip on the wall before moving to change holds.

A surge of relief passed through him as he his hands clasped onto a ledge wide enough for him to stand on. The ledge was ring of stone that marked the halfway point of the tower and also helped to reinforce the rest of the tower. The Baron's office window was just two metres above the ledge which helped to calm his nerves further.

Reaching the window with ease, he pulled his head over the window sill slowly. The shutters were slightly open, giving him a split view of Baron Aldrich inside. He couldn't see Keaton at all. The lights in the office were a lot dimmer than it should have been. Aldrich was pacing the room awkwardly, as if he was forcefully planting each foot to make a statement.

"Shall I begin,?" Baron Aldrich, "I shouldn't have to ask you. Do I? No, I think not."

Chris frowned at the first statement. Begin? He thought curiously, they should have been well into it by now.

Pulling himself higher, he sat easily on the large stone window sill. Leaning his ear toward the window, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to listen clearly to what Baron Aldrich would say.

"Ranger Keaton!," Aldrich bellowed obtrusively, as if he were reading from a script, "Let us discuss what **PUNISHMENT** the boy **CHRIS **deserves! I rather think that he should be **flogged!** Or dragged across the ground for—for... what is that word?...Oh—For ten minutes by a horse! Maybe even death for **SPYING ON A PRIVATE MEETING!**"

Chris eyes widened. They knew he was there. Before he could move, the window flew open and a firm hand gripped him intensely on the shoulder and wrenched him out of his hiding spot onto the cold floor of the office. His heart sank to an all-time low as he opened his eyes and stared into the grim foreboding face of Ranger Keaton. His fears of getting caught had been realized.

"Hello, Chris," Aldrich said in a monotonous voice, "What do you have to say for yourself? Whatever you will say, I must add, will not ease the forthcoming punishment for—for espionagy?"

Aldrich cocked his head confusedly, staring at his hand.

"Espionage, my lord," Keaton corrected.

"Right. I knew that," Aldrich muttered, and then continued in the monotonous voice, "Espionage is a high degree crime, punishable by death. However, we need **two extra witnesses **to the announcing of the crime. Then tomorrow your case shall be presented to the court!"

As soon as he finished, the door opened to admit Sir Quentin with Alyss following close behind. They both leaned against the wall beside the door and kept their faces serious as they looked at Chris. He bowed his head in despair.

On a closer look, Chris noticed that Quentin looked as if he were about to cry, Alyss had a hand to her mouth suppressing the laughter aching to explode. Though their expressions did little to erase the despondency he was feeling.

"I accept any punishment that you deem me fit for," he managed softly, close to tears, "and I will take it whole-heartedly. No turning back. No regrets."

When he looked up, he caught the nodding approving glance of Sir Quentin. Like all warriors, Quentin respected anyone who took the consequences of their actions like a man, no matter how odd or unfair it may seem. Alyss regarded Chris with a sympathetic smile. Then Baron Aldrich stopped his awkward pacing, and began to squint fiercer at Chris, leaning his face closer and closer until Chris had to lean his own head backward.

Aldrich was about to begin another repertoire of acting, when Keaton held up his hand to stop him.

"I think we had enough bad acting for one day," Keaton said bluntly,

Aldrich gave him a hurt look.

"I thought I was doing rather well," Aldrich pouted, "Oh well. I wasn't the best in drama class anyhow."

"You weren't the worst either," Alyss put in,

"Why thank you, Lady Alyss. Always the diplomat."

"You may not have been the worst, but you were darned close to it," Keaton said softly.

At that, Alyss couldn't help herself any longer. She burst into a fit of laughter. Trying to contain it only served to worsen the situation. Baron Aldrich gave another hurt look, and then crossed his arms and made a grumpy face, his lower lip sticking out.

"So much for the diplomatic approach," Quentin said, a wide smile on his lips, "just get on with it Aldie."

Aldrich flinched at the sudden call of his nickname. No one usually called him that, other than his wife. Chris, however, was stunned by the whole charade. He was completely and utterly confused. It must have been showing on his face, because with one glance at him, Alyss began to laugh hysterically once more.

"Wha—what's going on?" he asked innocently.

Keaton turned to face him, one eyebrow raised.

"What does it look like?" he asked, "were discussing your punishment."

"Huh? How then am I going to be punished? I did say I would accept anything, didn't I"

"That you did. We already came to a decision many weeks ago."

"Wait, what? You only called for my punishment today. How did you come to a decision _before_ today?"

"It was all part of the plan, dear," Alyss put it, finally able to quell her laughter.

"You planned for me to get in trouble? When? Why?"

"It's true," Keaton said distantly, "we really do ask a lot of questions. Yes, **I **planned for you to get into trouble. When? About two weeks ago."

"You haven't answered the why yet. And what is my punishment anyway?"

"Ah, well the answer to that question, also answers the why."

Chris looked confusedly at Keaton, waiting impatiently for the answer.

"Your punishment, my boy," Keaton said, "is you are going to be my apprentice."

**End of Chapter 3! Whew. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Much more to come soon!**

**Anyway please Read & Review with all your might! I'll be waiting! (I know where you read! Muahahaha)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Yes, this did come later than I had hoped, but thanks to all those who reviwed.. and guest ones too. Keep Reviewing then I'll be very encouraged to keep going fast. BUUUTT ANYWAYY here we go with Chapter FOUR! I have to say, this is really fun.. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it. SO! On we go! And MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**FarmersDaughter: **I said it before, but I'll do it again, Thanks for notifying me on that mistake on last chapter. Feel free to show me more if need be.

**musicgirl97: **You shall not be disappointed! I mean it.

**DaytonP: **yup.. I got ideas from that book.. but then added my own spice, of course, to it.

*Gasps* *Feigns Shock* STALKER!

**Character appearances: Lauralie, Daralie, Kaylie(I have a thing for names ending in "-lie" or "ly," don't I?). *Well, with my older sister having come over for Christmas from college(yay!), Vacation Bible School( in which I am teaching), and Youth Camp(GO RED!), I will be tied up for most of this month (also since I recently got into a K-Drama too...). So, don't expect many updates.. though I hope to update as much as I can..* **

**Enjoy Reading!**

**Di-su-ku-ra-e-me-ru: I do not own RA I only own my own characters... RA belongs to John Flanagan and all the characters that are from his stories...**

Lauralie packed her things eagerly, stuffing her belongings into the travelling pack her mother gave her. Daralie didn't approve of the way she did it though. It wasn't "Courier" like. But she understood the reasons and they were well founded too. It wasn't every day you got to become a specific apprentice to a famous Courier like Lady Alyss.

In her excitement, Lauralie (who we'll call Laurie from now on) knocked her travel pack down and many of her things came tumbling out and onto the floor.

"Oops," Laurie mumbled, wincing as a few items caused a loud crash as they hit the ground.

"You should be more careful, dear," Daralie scolded, "I know you're excited, but take it a notch down. And rearrange that bag. Your father will be home soon with Lady Alyss, and I don't think it would leave a good impression if your bag is all muddled like so. Remember, Couriers must be an example—"

"—of elegance and poise," Laurie finished, "I know mum. I guess my bag isn't so elegant now, is it?"

Daralie's bright brown eyes sparkled with pride. My daughter going to be a great Courier, she thought.

Lauralie was about to dump everything back out onto the bed when a loud rap on the door rung throughout the house. Laurie jumped nervously. They're here already?! She thought, they were supposed to be here after lunch!

Instead of rearranging the bag, she quickly yanked a few clothes out and folded them neatly on top of the muddled rest as Daralie went to answer the door.

Daralie exhaled anxiously and stroked her swollen stomach. Being pregnant had given her a lot of mood swings and odd cravings which also caused her to be a little worn out after a while. She opened the door and smiled largely.

"Hello, Ke—" she started, but stopped quickly as she noticed it wasn't her husband who was in front of her.

Instead a young boy of about fifteen, with ragged curled brown hair and big dark blue eyes smiled politely at her.

"Hello, there," she said, curiousity colouring her voice, "and who might you be?"

"I'm Chris," he replied extending out his hand, "pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh." She shook his hand hesitantly.

Noticing the look of confusion in the older lady's eyes, Chris moved to explain.

"I'm Keaton's new apprentice," he said, "He told me to meet him here. I gather he hasn't told you yet."

Understanding swept through Daralie's features as she remembered the fact. Keaton had told them earlier that morning that his first apprentice would be coming to the house later on. He neglected, however, to tell Chris that he would be arriving a little later after lunchtime.

"Well," she began, "you're actually a little early. Keaton won't be coming home till after lunch with Lady Alyss and my oldest son."

"Oh, I see," he replied.

Noticing the slight hesitation on his features, she made a gesture for him to come inside.

"No sense in waiting for him out here," she said cheerfully, "We'll be having lunch it a bit and you're welcome to join us. You can also meet my daughters, Laurie and little Kaylie. They'll keep you company while I prepare."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Keaton."

Daralie smiled. "Oh, no need for that. Just call me Dara."

Chris let Daralie enter first before walking inside himself. He took a glimpse of his surroundings once inside, and noticed it was quaint. The house looked, in some areas, like it had been reconstructed or added to. It was of course for the need of a big family. The house was completely made out of large long wooden logs, signifying that it used to be a small log cabin. A fireplace greeted him at the end of the living room and there was a long couch in front, two armchairs on both sides, and a small wooden coffee table in the middle. The dining area, where Daralie directed him to sit and wait, was connected to the living room. It comprised of a long wooden table having ten chairs spaced around it, and two wooden cabinets with glass display windows revealing the earthen ware inside. The kitchen was down the hallway and through the door on the left, but of course Chris didn't make a point to go and see. He shyly took a seat at the dining table and waited.

As soon as he sat down, his muscles seemed to groan a sigh of relief. He didn't notice how exhausted he'd been. He hadn't ridden the horse to get to Keaton's house because he knew that his mum would need it. Leaving at dawn, he walked eleven kilometres through the forest from his house. He was kind of surprised to know there was a house in the forest. Having been through the forest for hunting countless times, it was kind of odd he had never seen it. Then he remembered something faintly. He had recognized every landmark of the forest up to the point that was one kilometre from the house and remembered that every time that he had reached that area during his hunting, he'd hear a large animal run off behind him. Naturally he gave chase, but in the end had always found nothing.

He shrugged the thought off. It could be nothing. But still his curiosity was deeply aroused. He made a mental note to ask Keaton later.

After sitting at the table for a while, he felt a small tug on his shirt. Looking down, he found a little girl of about five years of age with big brown curious eyes staring at him.

Chris smiled sweetly. "Hi there," he said, "You must be Kaylie."

A smile grew on Kaylie's face as she nodded her head eagerly. Her little brown curls which were tied in ponytails, bounced playfully around her face. She stuck out her hand to him, showing off the doll she was holding. Chris took it from her, feigning cautiousness as if he were holding a baby. Kaylie's grin grew wider as she watched him hold the doll in his arms. She placed her thumb in her mouth and stroked the doll's hair with her free hand.

"She's really pretty, isn't she?" he remarked.

Kaylie, once again, gave him an eager nod before taking the doll from him and running off towards the kitchen. He watched as she disappeared through the door and smiled as a few memories of his younger siblings came to mind.

"She's quite taken to you," a voice suddenly spoke up behind him.

Chris jumped in his seat and whipped his head around to see who it was that had spoken. His jaw dropped to the ground as his eyes rested on the most stunning girl he'd ever seen in his life, who was leaning against the wall beside the fireplace, arms crossed. He quickly stood erect, almost knocking his chair over. She just giggled at him and elegantly covered her mouth with her hand. Her almost blond brown hair, dropped gracefully around her shoulders. She had somewhat rounded rosy cheeks which complimented her slender face. Her lips were a natural red, and her eyes, which caught his attention the greatest, were big but pretty, and had the most stunning colour he had laid eyes upon. They were a bright brown, almost golden, and lucidly vivid.

Noticing Chris' stunned look and his wide open mouth, Laurie waved a hand in front of his face.

"Careful, you might catch flies."

Chris quickly snapped his mouth shut and cast his eyes downward.

"S-s-sorry," he stuttered.

She giggled again. "I'm just teasing. You can take a joke, can't you?"

"I-I supp—I s-supp *gulp* Um, yes. Yes, I can a-actually."

"You certainly have a way with words, don't you?"

Chris blushed and Laurie held in another torrent of laughter. Chris noticed her evident attempt to still the laughter and frowned.

"You're not usually like this, are you?" he asked forwardly, "I sense that you would usually be a bit more outright. My father said that one should never restrain himself from being what he really is and try to be something else."

She cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You have no idea how to speak to a girl, do you?" She asked dryly.

"This would actually be longest conversation I've ever had with one. Sorry for my forwardness."

Chris hung his head, and Laurie looked at him sympathetically. She was sort of confused, however. Looking him up and down, she found it hard to believe that he hardly had conversations with girls his age. Chris, to her, was strikingly handsome. He had soft brown hair, parted neatly to one side, he had a slightly long hooked nose, and wide-curious deep blue eyes. His hair helped to frame is oval-shaped head, and his chin and lower jaw were prominent. His high cheek bones brought out his deep-set eyes.

Laurie found it hard to stop herself from staring at him.

"Well, looks like we need to start over," she offered, holding her hand out to shake his.

Chris looked up at the gesture and gratefully took her hand. With renewed vigour, he smiled brightly at her.

"How do you do?" he started, "I'm Chris. Chris Mandel."

"I am doing well, thank you," Laurie returned sweetly, "I'm Lauralie, but you may call me Laurie."

"Laurie. I like that name. It's nice."

"Why thank you Chris, though I can't really say the same for yours."

He frowned sadly at the statement. "Oh."

"Oh my stars, Chris. It was a joke."

Chris' face brightened again. "Oh," he said acknowledgingly.

He then noticed that they were still holding hands and then blushed as he slowly ejected his hand from hers. Laurie, noticing the gesture, also blushed faintly as she moved to take a seat beside his. Chris sat down as soon as Laurie was settled in her seat. Laurie leant her elbow on the table and placed her head on her hand, supporting it with her arm. She studied Chris' solemn expression for a moment and then smiled at him, which was returned with a small faint smile.

"I'm impressed at the way Kaylie acted towards you," she said finally.

"In what way was that?" he asked curiously.

"In a nice way. She usually has a way of attacking strangers she doesn't like."

"Oh, I see. I guess it's because I have two younger siblings. It's experience, I guess."

"That doesn't explain anything. There were people she acted badly towards, and they all have younger siblings too."

"Yes, but I doubt they had to hunt and take care of them for most of their lives."

"And you did?"

"Yes. My father died serving in the war with the Scotti, so I took the on the responsibility of taking care of and providing for our family. Mum would go out to work when I would come home from hunting or working, then I had to take care of the kids."

Laurie's expression softened a little at the mention of his father. "I'm sorry to hear about your father."

"It's alright."

They continued their conversation for another half-hour until Daralie brought lunch out. Chris ate the meal she served gratefully. He didn't know notice how hungry he was. Daralie and Laurie exchanged amused glances as they watched Chris wolf down large spoonfuls of food.

After lunch, they sat around the empty fire place and engaged in conversation. Daralie asked if had a girlfriend and Chris explained that he hadn't met many girls because he rarely spent time socializing in the town. Laurie, then, went on to fill him in on the local knowledge and customs so that he wouldn't be so awkward if he ever went into town.

They were well into the conversation when they heard the drum of hooves and the clanking of armour approaching. They all fell silent and each instinctively turned their ears to hear better. Laurie jumped up and squealed in delight.

"They're here!" she screamed, "and they brought Marven, too!"

"Really?" Chris asked, "why would they bring him along?"

"Well, for starters, he's my older brother, and secondly," she paused for a second in mock thought, "he's my older brother."

"Oh. Well I met your brother the other day on Choosing day. It'll be nice to see him again. Wait, how do you know it's him?"

"Can't you hear the clanking of his big clumsy battlehorse?"

"Oh, right. But that could have been anybody."

"Dad wouldn't bring just anyone home. Not even Baron Aldrich."

"I suppose. Well then, shall we go out to greet them."

Before he had even finished speaking, Laurie bounded out the door to run towards her dad. She stopped herself short when she remembered that Alyss would be in company with them and she wanted to make a good impression on her. Instead she walked over to them in long graceful strides.

Alyss watched the young girl knowingly. She could tell that Laurie was doing her best to impress her, which only reminded herself of when she started with Lady Pauline. She had done exactly the same; walking well, talking with tact and poise, but Lady Pauline had discouraged that. Pauline told her that being yourself was more important than looking good. In some areas, of course, poise and grace was required. But when it came to family or friends none of that was really necessary. Alyss made a head note that it would be the first thing she would teach her.

A smirk played on Keaton's lips as he watched his daughter walk ever so elegantly. He hadn't seen her do this type of thing since she was very small. Laurie used to love copying her mother in everything. He had to keep himself from guffawing when she nearly tripped on a little stone.

Laurie scolded herself silently. A little mistake like that could have ruined everything. At that point, Chris walked up to her and cleared his throat.

"Like I said," he began, "it's better if you just be yourself. I promise nothing bad will come of it."

"You say that like you've known me my whole life," she responded dryly, "I can't mess this up. I know so many incidents where things could have been better _if _I hadn't been myself."

With that, she strutted off again in the elegant charade she was putting on. Chris followed after her, eager to greet his new master.

Alyss lighted off her horse first and moved to embrace Laurie. Laurie was caught off guard by this action and could only stand stiffly in Alyss' embrace. Alyss pulled back from Laurie and let a smile envelop across her face.

"Oh Laurie," she cried, "You've gotten so big since I last saw you. You must be almost as tall as I."

Laurie couldn't help a squeamish grin crawl over her face as she buried her head in Alyss chest and hugged her tightly.

"It's been too long, Aunt Allie—" she said, cutting off quickly, "I mean, it's so good to see you again, milady."

Laurie stepped back and curtsied. Alyss let a frown seep across her features and held up a hand to stop her.

"Laurie, dear," she said, "let this be my first lesson to you, always, always be yourself. Don't try to be something greater than you are, but become greater by learning. That is the first step in becoming a Courier. Never forget who you are."

Laurie hung her head. "Yes, Aunt Allie," she replied despondently.

"Aw, Laurie. Don't you fret," Alyss crooned embracing Laurie lovingly, "It doesn't make me think any less of you. Go greet your father and your brother and let's get inside. I'm a little weary from travel."

As Laurie went to give her dad a hug, she noticed that Chris already had greeted both of her family members and was walking their horses to the small stables they had behind the house.

Hmm. Hard working _and _good-looking, she thought, smiling faintly to herself.

Keaton noticed the look on Laurie's face and quickly began to herd her and the rest inside the house.

"Come on, come on," he grunted, "Let's not keep my lovely wife waiting."

Marven recognized his dad's protective measures and began to snicker softly. He knew his dad was always like this whenever a boy caught the attention of his sister or if some boy began to take an interest in her. Despite the fact that it happened quite often, Marven couldn't help but find it hilarious.

Laurie glared evilly at her older brother and stomped into the house. Alyss received a long round of unintelligible squeals and mumbles ladies always seemed to do whenever they would greet a friend after a long period of time from Daralie, who tried unsuccessfully to keep her "Courier's" composure. Alyss, also forgetting completely of her training, returned a series of unintelligible cries enveloping Daralie in a hug, pulling back, pointing at her stomach, hugging again, and repeating the same sequence of actions for about two minutes.

Marven and Keaton glanced incredulously at the encounter between the two grown-up women and then at each other with their eyebrows risen. The ladies seemed to understand each other because amidst the squeals and chattering cries, they were nodding and making really loud responses to each other.

Chris walked in on the scene and cocked his head curiously. He leaned his head over to Marven with a raised eyebrow and cleared his throat softly.

"Are they speaking a special language?" he asked innocently.

"I guess you could say that," Marven replied humorously, a small chuckle evident in his voice, "it seems only women can grasp what is going on. Why don't you ask Laurie if she can translate for you?"

Chris glanced at him for a second and then at Laurie who seemed to be smiling and nodding along to the unintelligible girl talk.

He walked over to her and nudged her softly on the shoulder. Laurie looked at him with a fierce disturbed look thrown on her face. Chris had almost backed off but he decided against it and proceeded with his query.

"Do you know what they're saying?" he asked shyly.

"Of course I know what they're saying!" she snapped, "now stop bugging me so I can listen properly."

"Just tell me what they're going on about," he replied adamantly, a little flustered that she had responded that way.

"It's just about random girl events and how the baby is doing. Happy?"

"I guess. Thanks"

She scoffed. "Ugh, you really have a way with girls don't you?"

"Well I'm sorry that I had to take care of my family for most my life and had no social time whatsoever!"

His voice had risen a little higher than he expected, because he had gotten angry at the way Laurie seemed to be responding to him. He noticed that the room had gone silent and everyone was staring at him intently. Chris caught the unmistakable glare from Keaton and the amused look in Marven's eyes, and shied away. Red faced, he burst through the door and into the open air to escape further embarrassment. He strutted angrily over to the stables, picked up his currycomb, and began to brush down his pack horse fiercely. Mulling over what happened, he let the sound and rhythm of the brushing motion engulf him and let his mind blank out.

A few minutes later, the horse's fur was groomed to a sleek shine, but Chris kept on brushing despite having finished already. He decided that he would let everyone, especially Laurie, to cool down a little more before he'd come back inside the house.

"You all right, lad?" a voice spoke up behind him causing him to jump sharply.

He turned to see Keaton emerge out of the shadow of the house making the hairs on his neck stand up. The way Keaton did that never ceased to amaze—and spook—him every time.

"Y-yes sir," Chris responded nervously. He remembered how he had burst out at Keaton's daughter earlier. Keaton began to stride up to him swiftly making Chris' nerves to tremble.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" Chris cried staggering backwards, "I didn't mean to hurt your daughter in anyway. I'm really sorry."

"Let me guess," Keaton said placing one hand on his chin thoughtfully and resting his elbow on his other arm, "You can't stop worrying about your family and something about the ambience of the house right now makes you feel angry about what you didn't have growing up."

Chris reeled back in surprise. He expected Keaton to be fuming at how he spoke out of turn towards his daughter. Surprisingly too, Keaton had guessed correctly.

"H-How did you know?" Chris stuttered.

"I'm your master," Keaton responded nonchalantly, "I'm supposed to know these things. Don't worry anymore about your family. They're safe in Castle Macindaw remember?"

"I know, but I just can't help but feel uneasy."

"No need to explain to me, lad. I've been in your shoes before. You'll get over it in time. Now let's get inside before the ladies get too worried."

Keaton turned to move towards the house, but Chris' hesitation stopped him short.

"What is it, lad?" Keaton asked without looking back.

"I was just thinking," Chris responded quietly, "What do Rangers do?"

With a smile on his face, he turned to face Chris.

"Oh you'll see, lad. You'll see."

**Well that's it for Chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed it.. I'm off to camp today soo no updates for awhile.. Keep Reviewing! ****If you review, then I'll be a lot more eager to get you a new chapter when I get back.. Until then!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Alright! Here Comes Chapter 5! (and chapter 6 and 7 will be uploaded soon as well!) I hope all my followers and readers have had a great holiday season! And I have to say that being a senior student doesn't help with trying to write.. ergh.. always so pressed for time that I actually almost forgot about this. Studying takes a bite out of my free time.. I don't feel like graduating anymore..jks… aaaannyywayyyy..**

**-musicgirl97:** Will will be coming up shortly, I promise you that. ^_^ hehe, you actually gave me a great idea for this chapter.

**-FarmersDaughter:** I know right? There's a lot of people who used that line in their own fanfics and they always seem new-ish. Anyway, I'm happy you did the happy dance! so I did my own happy dance when I saw your review and how you said you did a happy dance. I did have a merry Christmas and camp was really awesome, thanks.

**-justAreader:** Glad you remembered to keep reading! Hope you enjoy more of this.

**-Guest:** Are you justAreader forgetting to reinsert your name?

**Alright! Here is the chapter you've all been waiting for... I so I hope you've been waiting for this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the RA series nor any of its characters that appear in my story. It's all John Flanagan's...(Though I could wish it was mine..)**

**Chapter 5**

Keaton led Chris back inside the house, though Chris found himself trying to escape. He passed through the doors head down, not wanting to look Laurie in the eye. Despite his misgivings, he passed over to where Laurie was sitting and stopped right in front of her.

"Sorry for blowing over like that," he said sheepishly, "I guess I'm just a little tense worrying about my family. Forgive me?"

"Yeah, I forgive you," Laurie said knowingly, waving her head, "It's partly my fault anyhow. It's that time of the month."

A look of understanding passed over everybody's faces, besides Chris.

"Ohh," they exclaimed in unison.

Chris looked back and forth around the room completely in the dark about what had just passed. Keaton smiled and shook his head, Marven smiled inwardly despite feeling sorry that his friend had to go through that, and Alyss got the strange idea that Laurie and Chris would make a great working pair.

"Do you mean to tell me that you have no idea what she is saying, lad?" asked Keaton smirking.

"I have absolutely no idea, whatsoever, what you guys are going on about," Chris agreed readily.

"Wait a second," Laurie chimed in, "are you saying that your mum never had one of these days?"

Chris pondered for a second and then shook his head. "If she ever did have one of these types of days, I wouldn't know."

"What do you mean?" Alyss asked, also joining in.

"Well, for starters, I'm barely at home during the day and neither is my mum. We both tend to come home a little late. Usually by the time I get home she's already in bed and dinner would be on the table."

"There was never a day she seemed out of the ordinary, or made strange requests," Alyss said beginning to investigate.

"Come to think of it, I think there were times she asked me odd things, but I never thought of it as odd."

"What'd she ask?" Daralie asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Basically just telling me to go and find more work to do for the rest of the day. Once a month on her day off, I'd usually come home early. But instead of me being able to spend a little time with her and the young ones, she'd send me to work more."

"Aha!" Alyss exclaimed, "That's the reason you never knew. What I don't get is why she didn't say anything. It would've certainly prepared you for something like this."

"I agree," Keaton put in, the others murmuring their assent.

"I guess it's because of her courier days. If that's how women are like during whatever it is women go through once a month, then she'd try to avoid me being around her. She never liked conflict."

Alyss and Daralie's heads popped up when they heard Chris' last statement. That was something new they had heard. They shared a glance at each other. Perhaps they knew who his mother is. Keaton noticed this reaction and stepped outside, deciding it was time to check on Azure. He motioned Marven to help him. Daralie noticed her husband's take of leave, but reasoned that it wasn't important. She was more curious as to who Chris' mother is.

"What's your mum's name, Chris?" asked Daralie.

"Gail," Chris said, "Gail Mandel. Why?"

Chris looked back and forth at two older women as they pondered the name. Alyss squinted in confusion. She should know most couriers, especially ones around her own age, but for some odd reason Chris' mother's name didn't ring a bell.

"Her maiden name was Abigail Denaria, if you're wondering. She changed it after she resigned from the Couriers when dad died."

Alyss' eyes widened in surprise. Abigail was supposed to be dead. Or so it had been told. Alyss couldn't think of a reason that she had to change her name, leave the couriers, or fake her death. It seemed odd and she resolved to find out why she had. Alyss cast a caring glance over to her former protégé, Daralie. Alyss knew that Abigail and Daralie were the best of friends. The news of Abigail's supposed death had thrown Daralie into a deep depression. Keaton was the only one who was able to break it. Now that they had just found out that she was alive and well, Alyss was afraid of how Daralie would react.

Daralie immediately began to pace back and forth from her room and the storage area. She picked up Laurie's pack bag and dumped the contents onto the bed. Laurie's eyes shot up at this confusedly and somewhat angrily. She had spent a lot of hours packing and her mum had just undone all of that. Alyss was alarmed at Daralie's actions and moved to stop her.

"Daralie," Alyss began warningly, "I know that you're angry, and you have every right to be. But if you're going— "

"I'm not angry," Daralie chimed, cutting Alyss off and tears streaming down her face, "My dearest best friend is alive! She's alive.."

With that, Daralie slumped onto the bed and broke into weeping. Alyss and Laurie moved to comfort her, leaving the utterly confused Chris all by his lonesome. Chris craned his head sidewards in bewilderment as he stared at the scene. Daralie stopped crying, wiped the tears from her face, and began to pack her own things into the pack bag.

"I need to pack," she stated in a broken tone, "I have to find out why she did what she did."

"But Mum," Laurie moaned, "There's only one more guest room at Castle Macindaw, and that's supposed to be where Alyss is staying. Many girls from all over came to Macindaw because she's here and they took up many of the rooms. Furthermore, that was _my _pack bag. Now I have nothing to put my things in."

"That's just it honey. I'll be staying at Macindaw now, at least for the time being. Alyss can stay in my room and teach you here. Your father and Chris will be staying in the cabin out back for his training, anyhow."

"What about all the resources that we'll need? They're all at Castle Macindaw. Not to mention that Lady Alyss' belongings are already there."

"Actually I brought them along," Alyss spoke up.

This time Laurie flashed a look of puzzlement. Why would Alyss bring along her things? Did she already know the situation that had arisen and had chosen to stay silent?

"I let Chris' family have my quarters at Macindaw," Alyss explained, noticing the young girls confused look, "I also brought all we need for our educational and practical sessions. Theoretical sessions will of course take place at Macindaw, but we can always ride there after lunch. After all, theoretical lessons take place in the afternoon."

Laurie took on a form of complete surprise mixed with a constrained sense of happiness. She was so happy to have Alyss staying in her house and teaching her one on one, but determined to restrain herself from jumping and leaping in excitement.

Chris smiled at the turn of events, but still was in the dark about what had just happened. He was about to ask why when Keaton burst through the door with a dark grim look plastered on his features.

"Nope," he declared firmly, "You and Alyss are going to stay at the Castle. Mum can go with you."

"Honey," Daralie began, "We can't all fi—,"

"You'll figure it out. I'm not letting my daughter stay here while there's a boy here as well."

"Oh, so that's the reason you're against this," Daralie remarked angrily, "I bet you even knew that Abbi was still alive. Okay that does it. Keaton James MacFumble, we're going to have a talk outside. NOW!"

Keaton's deep grim look had completely faded at the sound of his full name, plus the angry version of his surname, and melded into a look of utter submission.

"Yes dear," he moaned despondently.

Chris did his best to refrain from smiling or bursting out in laughter at that point, knowing it would be highly dangerous to do so. As soon as Keaton and his wife were out the door and hearing range, both he and Laurie began to burst out laughing. Marven couldn't help but laugh as well after seeing the two in hysteria and Alyss smiled as she was reminded of the "good old days."

"You two really get along well don't you," Marven commented, pointing at both Chris and Laurie, "you'd make a great couple."

Laurie flushed bright red, stamped on Marven's foot and stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. Chris turned away to hide his own red cheeks seeming to find something interesting on the floor.

"Argh, geez, Laurie," Marven cried, clutching his sore foot, "It was a joke you don't have to take it so seriously."

"Well Marven," Alyss began, a faint smile touching her lips, "you did forget about what we were just talking about. You just met the same end as Chris had. Only Chris had never known about it beforehand."

"Oh, right. Totally forgot."

"Anyway, I have to settle in properly. I'll be moving in Dara's room for now, so would you be so kind to help me unload my things from my horse, Marven?"

Marven flashed a look of confusion. "Wait, I thought dad was against this."

"Oh he is, but I doubt he'll win against your mother when she is like this."

"I guess you're right. This is my first time seeing my mum go all out against my father. It's usually me."

"That's understandable," Alyss replied plainly and turned to Chris, "Chris, I think you'd also like to get started settling into the cabin out back. No use in waiting around pointlessly."

"Yes ma'am," he replied, "I'll go do that now."

"When you're done, dinner will be ready so don't take too long."

"Yes ma—" Chris began to answer when Alyss hand stopped him short.

"I'm not ma'am," she said curtly, "You may call me Alyss. Not Lady Alyss, not ma'am, just Alyss. Although it would help to keep in mind that you will need to say those in the presence of dignitaries. Go along now."

"Yes ma—I mean Alyss." Chris made a face trying to get used to saying it in his head as he walked out the door.

_It seems it's not so bad as I imagined, _Chris thought to himself, _I guess I'll be able to take anything thrown at me now._

After setting his belongings into the small room he was given, he stepped back into the house to find everyone sitting around the dining table, and it seemed as if dinner had still not been prepared. Keaton smiled wryly at him, causing Chris to somehow know what was coming.

"So," Chris spoke up timidly, "what's going on?"

"Well," Keaton answered, a hint of playfulness in his voice, "You wanted to know what Ranger's do right?"

Chris mood jumped up at the comment and he sped to the empty chair at the dining table. "Yes sir! I mean Keaton, sir. I—yes. Please."

"Too bad. Not telling ya. You're a Ranger's apprentice not a Ranger, yet."

"Oh, then what do we apprentices do then?"

"You work."

"Work?"

"Yes, work. Your training begins tonight. We've already sorted out the arrangements for food preparations. I cook breakfast, lunch is Laurie, and you're going to be dinner. So whatever we have for dinner is on you. Come with me, I'll teach you how to prepare a meal."

"Oh, I know how to cook sir."

"Really now? What can you cook?"

"Let's see. I can cook rabbit stew, rabbit steak, ra—"

"Ok, we get it. You can cook rabbit. I'm already beginning to get sick of it. Alright, let's see what you can do. There's a small bunch of rabbits in the freeze box by the kitchen door. Don't take too long."

"Yes sir."

With that he headed off to the kitchen to prepare dinner. He was pretty confident in his cooking abilities and didn't feel any pressure doing it. Of course having to cook for a family every now and then refined his skills.

He finished about a half-hour later, thanks to Laurie who popped in to help out. Chris reasoned he could have finished a little earlier had Laurie not butted in. So by the time the food was finished, not only was the food steaming hot, both Laurie and Chris were fuming.

"It's very well done," Keaton commented after finishing a third helping, "the meat was diced nicely and you used condiments and vegetables conservatively. Which will be great when you're out on the field as well. Do you know how to find wild herbs and vegetables?"

"Yes sir," He responded gleefully. He was glad that everyone had said that his food was great, only Laurie had yet to comment.

"Thanks for the meal," Laurie said nonchalantly and stood up from her seat, "I'm going to bed. Big day tomorrow. Good night everyone."

"You'd best be off to bed too, lad," Keaton suggested, motioning to Chris, "You have to get up early to begin your chores."

"C-c-chores?"

"Yes, chores. Didn't I tell you that you're doing work?"

"Oh, right. I understand."

Chris trudged off into the night air and sighed. How was work related to apprentice training? He'd been doing work and menial tasks for all his life, only to have to do more here. Despite his misgivings, he didn't complain about it. He was rather glad he could be of help.

Chris just didn't know what was in store for him. Unknown to him that in just a few days, he'd be wishing he had worked more.

**Well that is it for chapter 5! If you think that this chapter was a little pointless I guess I understand, it's basically an extension to chapter 4. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. R&R! **

**For those who are waiting on Will; DW he'll make his appearance not too long from now!**** School is hectic at the moment, so maybe, maybe not, I'll be uploading the next chapters in a few days.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Alllriighty! Chapter 6!(Chapter 7 will follow suit shortly) Hope you enjoy this chapter**

**Disclaimer! I don't own the RA series. It is the property of John Flanagan. I own the characters that I have made up in the story I created based on it though. ^_^**

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**Suzanna_Silverstone:** Thanks for your reviews again. School is hectic because of the heap of things I need to do to graduate… This is my second year as a senior... and I plan to try and be in college by September.

**musicgirl97:** glad you enjoyed it!

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**Chapter 6**

Chris grunted as his shovel hit rock underneath the stony northern soil. The blisters on his palms did not ease the pain of the reverberating shock that travelled up his arm.

"Yet again," he sighed, talking to nobody in particular, "this stony ground is starting to get on my nerves. Three more fence posts and I've hit rock bottom for the nth time!"

He stabbed the shovel into the ground, unlatched the leather drinking skin from his belt, and slumped onto the ground. He drained what was left of the water in the skin and sprawled flat on his back. Daydreaming felt like a good thing to do right now for him. He closed his eyes, letting the sun beat down on him and warm his work chilled bones.

"It's kind of early to be slacking off already," a girly voice announced, causing him to sit straight up in split second.

Laurie was standing right in front of him in her day clothes with her fists resting on her hips. Her style today was a little out of the ordinary for him, since she barely used other clothing than the elegant Courier dress. A simple blue blouse, leather pants for riding and knee high boots. Laurie blushed when she noticed he was looking her up and down.

"Ahem,"

"Ah, Laurie, sorry," he said, a little irked, "what brings you here?"

"To bring you more water and maybe chat a little."

"Thanks."

Chris took the leather drinking skin Laurie was holding out to him gratefully. He usually drank sparingly from his own skin, but because it was extra, he didn't hold back and slurped down a wallop of water.

"Ah, that hit the spot," he said in relief.

"May I sit beside you?"

"Uh, yeah."

Laurie sat down next to him, pulled her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. They sat in silence for a while, letting the bright sun warm up the cool air. Their relationship had deepened a little over the past two weeks since he arrived. They no longer had petty arguments with each other, and most of their conversations ended up as silent as they were now. Chris felt there was deep meaning to it and actually enjoyed her company, despite the silence. When they did talk it usually was about little bits and pieces of one another's past.

"So," Chris began after about ten minutes, finally breaking the silence.

"So," Laurie replied in turn, "the harvest festival is coming up soon."

"Yeah, I was actually wondering about that. It seems there's a lot of preparation going on. Seems like a pretty big event."

"It is. Ever since we got those flashy things from Nihon-Ja, a lot more people have been coming along just to see it."

"I've never been to the festival, so I have no idea what you're talking about."

Laurie giggled and placed one hand over her mouth. "They're called, if I remember correctly, hanabi. It basically means fire flowers. Something shoots into the sky and colourful streaks explode outwards like a flower."

"It sounds amazing. I'm getting fired up! Is there a good place to watch it?"

"Yup. I know the best spot. Dad used to take me there all the time."

"Used to take you?"

"He'd been pretty busy the last few years, ever since the outbreak of bandits that nearly disrupted the whole festival 5 years ago."

"Oh, well that's a shame."

"It is. I used to look forward to it every year."

"Well let's have you look forward to it again this year. I'll take you."

Laurie smiled. "How's that supposed to make me look forward to it?"

"Oh shut-up. You'll see what I'm talking about."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"I won't."

Chris nudged her softly with his shoulder. "Sarcasticy girl."

The two sat in silence once more for a half hour before Laurie stood up and brushed the dust off her pants. She stretched and smiled inwardly. Somehow, she felt very warm inside despite the cold autumn air.

She took a step forward and then stopped as she remembered something. "Oh, by the way," she said, turning to face him, "my dad said to go to him after you finish that. He's in front your cabin."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

With that, Laurie trudged away, leaving Chris to finish up his work. Chris stood from his resting spot, stretched out wide, cracked his knuckles, and set to work. He began to work faster than he was earlier, excited for what Keaton might have in store for him.

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_HISS! THUNK! HISS! THUNK!_

The sound of two arrows hitting each respective target in quick succession always seemed to lift Keaton's spirit. _Nothing like arrows hitting soft wood_, he thought. Walking over to the tree, he pulled out the arrows buried in the trunk and yanked the small tin targets he hit off from the arrow tips. Just as he set the arrow in his quiver, he quickly wrenched another free from the quiver, drew, and aimed at the figure that emerged into the clearing from the woods.

Chris stood stock still as shiver ran up his spine. Nothing terrorized him more than those arrows Keaton had sent off at him before. Keaton lowered his bow and motioned Chris to come to him. Keaton was standing beside a small rounded table underneath a tree about five paces from the cabin. Chris noticed the large bow lying on the table and his excitement peaked making him to trot the rest of the way.

Keaton studied Chris' muddy appearance with a touch of humour. "You finished the posts?" he inquired.

"Yup," he replied curtly, not wanting to show the shakiness in his voice at the moment, "you wanted to see me?"

"Sure did. You begin your weapon training today."

Keaton unfurled a small bundle of weapons that was wrapped in leather onto the table beside him. Chris eyed the bundle with teeming curiosity. It was lot different than he had expected, but still left him awed nonetheless. He'd never seen the likes of the things that lay before him.

"Awesome! Though if I may ask," he began enthusiastically, "why did you have me do all those chores and jobs?"

"Apprentices don't ask. They just do as they are told. Understood?"

"Yes, Keaton. I just thought—"

"You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think."

"Oh, um. Okay, then what's first?"

"Show me what you can do with the bow."

Keaton picked up a bow from the table beside him and handed it to Chris. Chris studied the bow in awe. He had never seen anything like it. It curved mostly like the small hunting bow he owned but the tips each curved back in to opposite direction. It was of course longer than his hunting bow, and it was also completely stronger. He could tell from the weight of the draw when he pulled back on the taut string.

Keaton gave him a quiver and pointed at a tree. "Try hitting that tree with this. It's called a recurve bow. It's a lot stronger than what you're used to and I doubt you'd be able to handle a longbow yet. So until then, you'll be using this."

"This is mine?!" Chris asked, ecstatic that this weapon was his, "cool! Thank you so much, Keaton!"

"Just get on with it lad."

Chris pulled one arrow from the quiver and nocked on the string. He pulled back on the arrow, grunting as he strained to get it to full draw. _Hiss! Thud! _The arrow he nocked slipped out of his fingers and buried it's head in the ground before him.

"Oops."

"Don't just stand there gawking and saying 'oops,'" Keaton bellowed, "again. Don't draw with the tips of your thumb and fore finger. Chances are the draw weight would be too strong for you and it will slip out just like now. Let the arrow rest between the first and second fingers on the string… like this."

He demonstrated how to let the string rest on the first joint of the first, second and third fingers, with the first finger above the nock point and the others below it. Then, he showed him how to allow the string to slip loose so that the arrow was released.

_Hiss! Thunk!_

"I see. That was cool."

"Give it a go."

Chris drew back as he was shown and took aim at the same tree Keaton had just shot at. Using his forefinger as a sight guide, the set the target in his mind and made some adjustments to the aim according to the slight breeze he felt and the length of the shot. Keaton noticed the small adjustments and smiled. He was glad to know that Chris wasn't that much of a beginner like he was when he started.

_Hiss! Thunk!_

Chris was glad he hit the tree but it was several inches off to the left from where he aimed. He was lucky that he was close and the trunk was large enough for the shot. If not, his shot would have completely missed the tree. Slightly frustrated, Chris selected another arrow and began to draw back again, when Keaton noticed something and stopped him short.

"Your shot is off, because you're bending your arm like that," Keaton said.

Keaton noticed that because Chris never used a leather sleeve to protect his arm, he developed a style of shooting where his left arm was bent outwards at the wrist to avoid getting his arm scraped by the bowstring. The way he did that caused an unnecessary increase of strength on the left arm, which in turn caused the bow to veer slightly to the left when the arrow is released. Mentioning this to Chris, he gave him a leather cuff similar to the one he was wearing and reworked Chris' shooting form.

"Also, make a habit of drawing with you back muscles as well, not just your arms," he said, "imagine as if you're squeezing your shoulder blades together. You've been shooting this way for a while now so I don't expect you to easily shrug of the old habits you gained from years of hunting. You'll need to practice for at least two hours a day to work out the kinks."

"Yes, sir. I'll probably even go longer than you suggested until I hit what I want dead on."

"Learning to shoot straight under pressure is as crucial as getting it 'dead on.' One our saying is, 'An ordinary archer practices until he gets it right. A Ranger practices until he never gets it wrong.' You'd do well to remember that saying."

"Yes sir," Chris said.

"We'll continue this for an hour more then we'll go out camping in the woods. There, I intend to hone your somewhat prominent skill for unseen movement and teach you more about the other weapons you have."

Chris was enthused by the idea, but had his misgivings as to why he'd have to move unseen. Are Rangers really spies? Do they do jobs so shameful that they'd have to hide? Many questions raced through his head, but for the time being, he was glad to let them go unanswered.

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Chris slouched down by the castle wall next to the stables and munched on the apple he got with Laurie at one of the festival stalls. His whole body was aching from the rigorous training he put himself through over the last month. He was glad to have a day off and go out with Laurie and Marven to enjoy the festival. Though, he wasn't finding it as enjoyable as he wanted it to be. The aches really made the day seem dull.

"There you are," Marven called out, walking up to him, "You don't look so good from what I see."

"Well you're sight is pretty spot on," he answered, "You don't seem so bad yourself. You're lucky."

Marven grunted loudly as he took a seat beside Chris. "Me? Lucky? Not on your life. I'm just used to it already. I feel like I've been pounded by a horse though."

"Gotcha."

"What are you two lazy bums doing over there?"

Chris looked up to see Laurie in her casual clothes again. She had come to the festival wearing the Courier gown but was now decked out in the same clothes she wore when they had the almost silent talk on the hill. Her brown blond hair dropped loosely around her shoulders, and her golden brown eyes sparkled with intensity. He could help but stare at her once again causing her to blush and look away.

"Hey," Marven said, nudging Chris with his fist, "stop staring at my sister. You're embarrassing her. Not that I really mind."

"I heard that! Come on! The sun's setting and we have to get to our vantage point before they begin the hanabi show."

"Alright we're coming!" Chris shouted back.

Despite the pain, the festival to him overall was great. There were so many different stalls packed with food and random games with prizes. He spent most of the day with Laurie trying out different games. It was a little odd for him, seeing as they had spent quite a bit of money on entertainment like this. He wasn't used to this kind of pleasure spending, but he thoroughly enjoyed it.

The trio trekked up a little cliff of rocks beside the forest and stopped when they reached the cleft. They sat down on top and stared out at the long valley beneath them that separated the fortress from the forest. From where they sat, they could see figures moving about the centre of the valley lugging large wagons and carts around setting them in rigid lines.

"Those are the things that the hanabi come out of," Laurie mentioned, noticing Chris inquisitive gaze, "In about an hour you'll be able to see the light of the fire they'll use to set them off, and then it'll be show time."

Laurie smiled gleefully. She couldn't wait. It had been a while since she could enjoy the hanabi show with people.

"I didn't think you'd enjoy it that much without me," a voice spoke up behind them, causing all of them to jump, "you don't have to be shocked that much. It's just me."

Laurie squinted to make out the figure in the shadows, hoping, expecting with anxiety, that it would be who she hoped it to be. Sure enough it was who she though it was.

"Daddy!" Laurie squealed as she jumped into her dad's arms, "I thought you were doing perimeter patrols for those reckless bandits."

"Not this year. Got some help for that. Marven and Chris know what I'm talking about, don't you boys?"

The two boys looked away as if they didn't know anything and put on distant gazes.

"Oh don't you two feign ignorance," Laurie said, "why didn't you tell me? And what is this 'help' dad is talking about."

"It wouldn't have been a surprise if we told you," Chris said, "the help is from Marven's Battleschool. The delinquents who decided that disobeying authority was a smart idea are paying off their debt by doing the patrols tonight."

"Oh don't you go and give the glory to anyone else," Marven teased, "It was all your idea. I can clearly remember you saying 'if it can make Laurie smile, then that's enough for me.'"

Chris' face flushed bright red. "Hey! Don't go blurting that out!"

Laurie smiled and laughed lightly. "Thank you," Laurie said softly, "it means a lot to me."

Chris folded his arms and looked away. "Yeah, you're welcome. Though, don't you go thinking this as a tool to make me do anything else. This was just a one off thing."

"I understand," Laurie said, stepping over to him and planting a soft kiss on his cheek.

Chris flushed an even brighter red. "Wha—what was that? D-d-don't think that makes me happy or anything. I need to use the forest for a second."

Before he could step out, he could feel a large cold gaze watching him. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Keaton, though giving Chris such a cold stare, felt glad that his kids were getting along well with Chris. Maybe it would give him a greater incentive to train harder. For he knew, that the desire to have the ability to protect the ones closest to you is one of the greatest tools of becoming stronger.

**And that concludes this chapter! Yaaaayyy~ I didn't add all the special details where Keaton would explain about the Saxe knife and all cause itwould be a waste of words. If you wanna know more about those, read the originals. This is a fanwork afterall.. hehehe hope you enjoyed this! R&R im waiting for ya!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Alrighty readers, here is your long awaited chapter 7! Hope it doesn't disappoint! I got a little awesomeness heading your way! **_**I think**_**.. anyway don't forget to review! I'm waiting for ya!**

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**FarmersDaughter: **Chris says that he probably is a lot like his author(in the past). (keke) Glad you liked that bit, but due to the content of the talk, I am unable to disclose any info. (not like you were asking for it) Haha, you could write your life story down, only if it's shorter than my story. Jks..

**justAreader:** then I think it would be easier if you got yourself a profile, no fuss.. Will will appear soon. I care about school. Don't you? Education is a blast. ~_~

**musicgirl97: **doon't worry, you shall have your wish preeetty soon.

**Suzanna_Silverstone: **not really, I did do archery every time I went to school camp b4, so that's why I know a bit. But basically research was how I know that much..

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**Chapter 7**

The rest of the festival night went through without a hitch. The hanabi show exceeded Chris' expectations and left him in awe, though he felt that he would've enjoyed it a lot more if the cold stares stabbing his spine from the shadows had stopped. Keaton had fun teasing the lad and decided he would also give him an extra punishment for training the next day. Laurie was slightly disappointed that it hadn't only been Chris and her for the evening, but because her dad was there she completely shrugged it off. Daralie and Gail couldn't be separated. Ever since they had renewed their friendship, the two had been almost inseparable. Daralie decided she would stay at the castle until Alyss had to return, which in turn made Keaton a little lonely.

As Chris lay on the cool soft grass, he went over the events in his head once more, enjoying every last detail that he could remember from the day. He was especially glad to have seen his family enjoying themselves that day and more so with the fact he spent most of his day with Laurie, though he didn't really know why. His hand flew to the cheek that she had kissed subconsciously and stayed there. He couldn't get it out of his mind. Before he knew it he had dozed off.

Chris startled awake to a boot nudging his shoulder and jerked straight up.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he cried resonantly, "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Will you pipe down?" Keaton grumbled, "Come on, we're taking a little hike. Good time to hone your unseen skills."

Chris jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," another voice spoke up.

Chris whirled around to see Laurie standing behind him. As soon as he saw her, he could keep himself from averting his gaze from hers and blushing.

"H-hi," he stuttered, "you're coming, too. I see."

"You don't sound too excited about it," Keaton said, "should we leave her behind instead then?"

"No! I mean, no. It's fine if she comes along. Does she have something to do with where we're going?"

"Yes she does. You sure ask a lot of questions, lad. I think I can understand the way Will felt when I was apprenticed to him now."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind that. We have to go now."

Keaton led the way to the stables and got onto one of the pack horses. He also let Laurie ride with him, but when Chris was about to mount as well Keaton stopped him abruptly.

"No you don't," he said grimly, "you walk. Don't worry it shouldn't be too far. Besides you need to practice your unseen movement."

"But you said that my unseen movement was top notch!" Chris complained.

"That doesn't mean you can't improve. Go on now."

They began their trek into the countryside and began to take a path that Chris wasn't really familiar with. It seemed as if they had passed a certain point several times over. While he slid from tree to tree, Chris could hear Keaton bellow orders and jeers as he corrected the way he moved.

"I can see you!" Keaton shouted, slightly amused, "I can still see you!"

"That's not fair!" Chris retorted, "You know how to look! Let Laurie try and spot me."

"I can see you too!" She called out, teasing him, "Geez, you're not really good as I heard."

"Shut up! You're just lying! If you can see me, then where am I?"

Keaton whispered silently to Laurie.

"You're behind the tree next to the large pile of rocks!"

"Wha? KEATON! Stop helping her!"

"I can do what I want! She's my daughter!"

"That's it I'm coming out."

Chris stepped out of his hiding spot and surprised both Keaton and Laurie. He seemingly appeared out of nowhere and not even close to where they said they saw him. Chris had a triumphant smile plastered on his face as he strutted toward the pair.

"Like my stealth dummy substitution technique?" he asked smugly.

"Yes, I do actually," Keaton complimented, thoughtfully scratching his skin, "how did you do it?"

"Oh a bit of this and that. I don't think I have the time to explain it all now, right?"

"True. We'd best get moving. Off you go again."

"Yes sire!"

With that Chris scuttled off into the woods once more seeming to blend into the shadows. Laurie rubbed her eyes again, sure that she was seeing things. It seemed all to surreal that a person could do something like that. She may have seen it countless times, but it never ceased to amaze her.

After a few hours, they reached a clearing which was a lot larger than Chris was expecting. The area spanned about two kilometres wide and many parts were sealed off with neck high fences. A few horses grazed about the pasture within the fence line and what seemed like a large cottage stood afar off in the distance on top of a hill along the forest limits.

"We're headed for that cottage over there right?" Chris asked, intrigued by his surroundings.

"No," Keaton responded sarcastically, "we're just passing through to the other side."

"Really?"

"No! Of course not! Our destination is obviously the cottage on the hill."

"Right. I knew that."

Laure held back a laugh. At times Chris seemed so simpleminded to her, and at other times she felt as if he was very knowledgeable. She smiled to herself, reminded of the night before how he had gotten Keaton to join them for the hanabi show. It was a feat that was may not have been so grand to others, but grand enough to touch her heart.

They reached the small cottage and Chris began to examine the place excitedly, his curiosity running wild. To Keaton and Laurie, he seemed like a child that had gotten a new toy overjoyed at every detail that the toy showed. Keaton and Laurie dismounted and gazed over the old building.

"What are we doing here? What is this place? Is that a stable over there?" Chris asked, each question quickly following the last.

"You ask too many questions, lad," Keaton replied, somewhat exhausted from the barrage of questions Chris always asked, "Give me some time to answer. We're here to see Old Rob, the Ranger Horse trainer."

Keaton noticed the inquisitive look on Chris face and stopped him before he could even talk.

"No, they're not like those bumbling loud battle horses the knights use. Ranger horses are better, far better."

"Cool."

"Is his going to be like Azure?" Laurie asked.

"No," Keaton responded, "Azure is half Arulean, and half Temujan. His is half Nihon-Jan. A new breed we're trying, using the same style breed from there."

"That was the king's idea, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it sure was."

"I hear voices out 'ere," a scratchy old voice spoke up from behind them, "S'dat you, Kea'un son?"

"Yes, it's me Rob," Keaton replied turning to face him, "How are the horses doing?"

"Migh'y fine, if I do say so meself."

"Chris come over here and meet Old Rob."

Chris wandered over and looked the short old man up and down. Rob had barely any hair left and was dressed in scruffy overalls. In order to make up for the loss of hair, Old Rob had a good heap of dusty facial hair. Chris noticed, however, that Rob's muscles, though now soft and wrinkled, had been toned and were once tough and strong. Chris stretched out his hand to shake Rob's and noticed further that the old man's fingers were tough and calloused the way his are. Rob smiled at Chris curious glances and stepped back to see if Chris would voice his opinion on what he had gathered.

"You used to be a Ranger, right?"

"This young'un's sharp, he is," Rob chuckled, "I sure was. Ne'er been a lad like you in a long time. Got yourself a good catch, Keaton."

"We'll see. He's still to earn his leaf," Keaton said, pride evident in his tone.

"My leaf?"

"We'll save that for later."

"Well they're ready when you are. I gather s'dats what ya came fer."

"After you, Rob."

They followed rob around the cluster of buildings on the far side of the cottage and Chris noticed that they were passing by stables. Horses grunted and whinnied as they passed and Rob seemed to call out and greet each one by name. They stepped into a fenced-off paddock where a small lean-to shed stood to the side, which was roughly the size of a small bedroom. The lean-to was in tatters and the window was broken in. Old Rob let out a piercing whistle which was responded to by the drumming rhythm of hoof beats.

" 'Ere they come now!" he said pointing to the top of the hill.

The group looked to where he was pointing and saw three small horses galloping over the hill to meet them. Chris noticed, as they neared, that only one was a horse. The other two were ponies. Though two were ponies, all beasts were small and shaggy.

The larger horse immediately trotted toward Keaton. He stroked the horse's nose and handed him an apple from his pocket. As the horse gratefully crunched on his treat, it walked over to Laurie who cooed softly while patting the horse's neck, also handing him an apple. Laurie looked over to where Chris stood and whispered into the horse's ear. The horse tossed it's head and grunted in reply. Chris raised an eyebrow at the response of the horse. It was as if it was laughing at him.

The two smaller horses were being tended to by Old Rob and were already munching down on apples handed to them by the old man. Chris looked back over to where Laurie stood patting the larger horse and gathered that it was Keaton's horse from the way both she and her father both treated it. While he stared at the interaction between Laurie and the horse, he was nudged from behind causing him to stumble forward a little. Chris turned in surprise to see one of the smaller horses standing behind him, at which moment caused all three beasts to neigh and shake their manes.

"I suppose I'm the centre of this joke their having," Chris said, chuckling and stroking the pony's neck and gazed into the horses' eyes. The other's laughed at Chris' remark. Old Rob walked over and handed Chris an apple. The pony was a shaggy beast, short, but firm looking. His body was barrel shaped and his tail and mane looked unbrushed. His coat was a very deep brown in comparison to the other pony whose coat was a slightly dark chestnut colour.

"This 'un's name is Enjo, Nihon-Jan fer somthin'." Old Rob said, "he's small, but 'e's a feisty 'un, he is."

"I like him. His eyes give off a sort of fiery look."

"Well, it sure suits his name," Laurie said, "Enjo means flame, or blaze."

"You know Nihon-Jan?"

"Yup, I've learned it from Mum and the books I got from Will. It's my favourite language out of the five I know."

"F-five languages," Chris said in disbelief, "Wow."

"It's a standard for us Couriers."

"I knew that. Just didn't think it was possible, for you that is."

She chucked an apple at his head and Enjo caught it as it bounced off, munching on it noisily. Old Rob set off cackling, his sides heaving with laughter. The horses, too, began neighing and tossing their heads as if joining in with the laugher.

"Ow," he muttered, "I was just kidding."

"You like him, you say?" Old Bob said, "Well of course you'd like 'im. He's yours!"

"Mine? That's so cool."

"He's a tough'un. He can easily run those burly show horses into the dust if you let 'im."

"Really? Can I ride him and see how fast he goes?"

"Tomorrow," Keaton said sternly, "If you really feel like you should. We'll be staying with for the night, Rob."

"Not a problem, Ranger. Not a problem. Company is always welcome."

The rooms the old man provided them were ample enough. It was slightly damp and the room gave off a moist scent. A fire place hugged one side of the room, in which a fire was already ablaze, warming the chilly room. Little furniture adorned the small room. An old painting hung on the wall above the fireplace, but had been rendered indiscernible from the dampness of the room. Among the furniture was an A door linked their room to the one that Laurie would be staying in. Her room was almost a mirror of the previous only smaller.

After supper, Keaton settled into the armchair that sat by the fireplace and Chris took up a spot close by. Laurie was already sleeping in her room by the time Chris had settled into his sleeping spot. He stayed up quite late thinking about the training he was going through; Shooting, throwing, and slipping from cover to cover. What was it all for? Keaton still hadn't explained to him what exactly do they do. Despite his misgivings, he was excited to ride his horse. The shaggy little pony impressed him regardless of his appearance. He's ridden a lot of horses, but none seemed like the one he saw that afternoon. One question still plagued his mind, however. Who was the other horse for? It seemed a lot like his, only different in colour.

Chris sighed. All his questions would be answered in time. He decided to be patient and to wait and see what would pan out. Thinking of the experiences he had and the ones to come he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_**Somewhere along the plains of Norgate Fief**_

Sunlight filtered through the tent opening as the sun rose against the horizon. The warmth of the sun's rays caused the eyes of the tent's owner to flutter open. Pulling the thin sheets off, she stood erect in front the tent and stretched freely to ease the aches in her muscles. Sleeping on hard ground is not always as easy as they say.

"Good morning, Roxy," a voice said, teeming with pride, "how was your sleep?"

"Morning, dad," Roxanne replied sleepily, rubbing her eyes a little, "sleep was rock hard, again."

"Ah, you'll get used to it. You're the one who pressured me into letting you become an apprentice."

"I'm not complaining. It's just different from what everybody said. I guess it's much more than I expected."

"You are a girl, so it's understandable."

"But I'm the daughter of the great Will Treaty! It's supposed to be easier than this!"

Will raised his eyebrow at the sarcastic tone used by his daughter.

"I can't believe your mother and everyone else talked me into this. Why couldn't you be a courier like your sister?"

"I like the adventure and the thrill of a Ranger's life better."

"I know, I know. Drink up your coffee while it's hot and then eat your breakfast. We've got a ways to go before we reach Macindaw. I can't wait to see your mum's face when she sees us."

"Me too. I miss her," Roxy said, yawning and stretching again.

She picked up the empty cup beside the hot pot of coffee and poured the rich contents of the pot into her cup. Then eyeing the honey jar, she plucked it from the saddle pack and emptied a large helping into the coffee and stirred.

"I know a lot of people who would've winced at what you just did."

"Your fault. I got it from you."

"I don't put that much. Besides, I got that from Grandpa Halt."

Roxanne smiled deeply. "I can't wait to see him again! Is he going to be at the Gathering?"

"He hasn't missed a single one for a long time. He is the head honcho after all."

She began to hum lightly in glee and moved about the camp. She picked up a brush in one hand and began to brush Arashi's light brown coat down. Arashi whinnied softly to her master's touch and shook her mane.

"Good morning, girl," Roxanne cooed, "ready for a run?"

Arashi nodded vigorously and began to paw the ground. Tug, seeing Arashi's excitement, followed suit. He whinnied loudly, trudged over to Will and nudged his arm.

"You're easy to get excited aren't ya?" Will said, stroking Tug's muzzle, "Well, there's nothing like a morning run."

"Can we?" Roxanne asked, excitement flowing through her voice.

"Why not? We'll race to the tree over yonder and back. We need to get a move on. There's still about four hours of riding left. Remember, we need to ease the horses into their run. Stretched muscles aren't good for them."

Roxanne squealed in delight, whispered softly into Arashi's ear, and swung on top the saddle.

"I think we need to ease you into a run, too."

"Oh, be quiet."

* * *

**Well that's it for chapter 7! YAY! WILL APPEARED! Just what surprise does Will have in store for Alyss? oh? You wanna know? well then R&R and I'll come up with that. Until then!**


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